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out I got my son my daughter just start that com I get the That's my kind of place to my head under the water and she said let go right oh yeah look I'm like this [Laughter] iig new7 and I went for that on and then I remod [Music] and then I worked at valy for a little while back par and then weed and then all everybody shoing onl nobody's gonna want brick and anymore and then down same place same place place times all right but things can change mil for to here and on and and this 6:30 I call this meeting to order um marivel can you please uh do roll call today is a special board meeting of July 25th 2024 at 6:30 pm members of the board and attendance president Linda Chavez present vice president Andres Quintero clerk MIM fam present member coordinator ala present member Andrea Flores Shelton here members administr Administration interim superintendent Manny Barbara here we have Quorum today and this uh meeting has being recorded can you all stand for the pledge allegiance I pledge allegiance to the BL of the United States of America and to the repic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all than moving on to the 2011 the Board of Trustees will meet with the Consultants from mcferson and Jacobson to review and accept the stakeholder report and determine the interview process the board will like to follow do I have any public comment seeing none um do you want to Mr troli can you please uh for transparency purposes we have translation available for public who wish to hear the session in Spanish in person I can read also um would you like me to read the next item please in in Spanish for okay what I forgot my glasses give me a [Laughter] second Madame President would you like to would you like me to read um item one or 1 or 2011 uh 2011 okay [Music] 2011 thank you um so we're going to um move to close session and uh the announcement in public comments regarding items to be discussed in close session government code section 54957.6 so we will be re number two we haven't done number two yeah we just did we haven't reviewed the stakeholder report orer we're gonna go do that in Clos session it's open yeah okay whoops okay I had it backwards close first and then open the other part we do need to do well the process is well on it its way and I want to thank all of you and the many community members that have participated in the stakeholder meetings both online as well well virtually online and face- Toof face what you have in front of you in just a few moments uh my colleague and Nicole Anderson will walk you through the report or give you the big picture of the report itself as I've said in the various uh times that we've spoken really take a look at this report as a grow uh glow and grow sort of report there are things in this report that you can be very proud of and there are things in the report that sometimes you oh but that's where you can grow from and that's what the applicants are going to be looking at and when they come to meet with you the ones you determine that you want to interview hopefully they're going to speak to some of that every District has glowing parts and every District we've done this for report has growing parts so just keep that mindset in mind as we go through this um and again my colleague Nicole Anderson will start through the record reflect that uh vice president K is here as well so um good evening Board of Trustees and staff and good see evening um really honored to have been a part of the process um I think we shared one of our favorite parts of doing the superintendent surges engaging with the different community members and just really hearing the voices it also helps us get a good sense of what might be a right fit right considering all the various voices so you all have this particular report in front of you um for the sake of time I'm not going to go through every bit of it but I do encourage you if you haven't done so already to really kind of come through and see some of the um comments that have been made and perspective that's been shared by the different stakeholder groups so alt together um there were um 51 uh individual face-to-face meetings and 156 virtual which is the survey and so um based on what we normally like to see is in a district of your size we usually say like three to 5% is really a good number to get right and you actually were fairly close to the 3% um based on having the number of kids you have and so with that being said there's really good sense of what people have shared but also recognize there are a lot of voices that aren't in here um and we also recognize it was summertime so we had a great opportunity to meet with people in person also virtually um and then via the survey but the way I want you to look at this is starting on page three there's an executive summary and so as we went through we asked four questions and those questions were the first two what's good about the community what's good about the district and the schools and part of that remember is for us to learn but also um it it's kind of a marketing piece right to really highlight the great things that are going on um and so to Dr Dan's point the glows um number three is really important because it helps us to better know how to look at whose skill sets would match some of the key issues so we ask the question what are the issues of a new that the new superintendent should be aware of we ask those so that we can really better understand like the ones that really rise to the top we know being a superintendent there's lots of issues to address but what are the key issues so that's kind of the context of how we ask the question as well and then of course number four is really asking people like what is their wish list like what are those characteristics attributes they want to see in the next superintendent and what you'll find is you'll see these responses I want you to be mindful of the criteria you establish for the job right and see how well they match and maybe where there's areas that you you want to you know kind of look at a little more deeply so on page three you can see the first question is share what is good about the community and the way we broke it out is the theme so the executive summary is the themes and that's a real easy way to read the report versus going through every single response so you can see where it says the high level um kind of themes that came up under what's good about your community is an appreciation and acceptance of cultural diversity and you can see the bullet points really just kind of give more of a um comments that were made and things that came up often but that was the broad category so appreciation and acceptance of diversity the multi-generational community so that came up quite a bit as well that people kind of come go through the district stay and really looking at kind of a family oriented space where Generations continue to give back to the community um you saw that there was diversity in the social economic status so you saw a variety of of ways that people um um kind of enter the space from economic space but there was still a collective commitment of the community which is not always the case so that was a really powerful thing to hear um when you have such a commitment to the community um even despite challenges economically um a welcoming community so that came up quite a bit and so you can see the community piece then connects the question two which is about the schools so what's good about the schools and the district and so you can see the commitment of Staff came up as a theme um whether it was teachers or classified so that was definitely something that Rose for us um you had special education program was highlighted quite a few times and so that was something that I'm being very proud of um which also compared to other districts is not always a highlight um so that's actually a powerful piece um to build upon right definitely from from that strength um a variety of resources for students stud and famili so that was pretty powerful too that even despite challenges and lack of resources right there is so much that's offered to students and families um and you can see some of the ways that things came up in terms of the dual immersion program that came up quite a bit but also your before your after school um programs um providing Child Care having Community Liaisons those are all things that were were highlights um so as you go into uh number three these are the issues and so again what we did is tried to really highlight the themes of the issues that came up and so some of these you'll probably see as things that you may also as a board um kind of lift as issues but also this is kind of the perspective community so you can see that one that came up is around the pr and kind of communication process so really messaging the great things that are going on here so really having that narrative is is needed um and having some clarity around Direction in terms of where this district is going but the narrative the communication the messaging um a focus and direction from the board so one of the things that you all get to live in the board space and as you know um people watch board meetings people are engaged with board members but as you know you've had your own challenges over the years so those are things when you look at perception right perceptions of Direction and unity of the board is something that came up and so um definitely um in this process of having a superintendent I think some of that actually helps support that right because you've had some interims right you've gone through that process so this is actually something that hopefully will look different as you bring on your new permanent employee um retaining staff so this is something that's come up in quite a number districts but yours as well is the retention um as you know um salaries came up is one conversation about you know how much people are paid and they could leave and go somewhere else that has come up in many districts of how do we retain staff um although you have staff who have come through the district and do are committed and stay this still came up as an issue around retention um so definitely want to be mindful of that and salaries was definitely one that came up um The Maintenance and Facilities piece um I think that is something that came up in a couple of spaces one is it's it it appears that just Staffing is is an issue right and a lot of districts will will have this come up as a concern so to maintain the schools um Staffing definitely is something that um has come up and um that is something that the new superintendent have going to have to consider right how to maintain SCH schools um but also the Nuance of schools being closed or Consolidated what that looks like so these this is definitely an issue new superintendent GNA have to consider um attention academic so I think it's it's you know so no secret that academically that's something you all are continuously on the journey to close those achievement gaps to make sure that overall we're raising um academic outcomes for all students uh but that did come up um around just I think the covid piece all the districts dealt with that but it's to a point now it's like okay how do we kind kind of recover from that really get to a space of now really focusing on academics in a very different way and um academically um because it's been um low in comparison to other districts and in comparison to even what you've done in the past that definitely came up um if you look at your declining enrollment no surprise right so that's something that the new superintendent should be very well aware of and of course you know the it it also um speaks to the potential of having to close or consolidate schools so h issue coupled with your budget right so having um you know the perception of um and reality of a deficit and having to cut is going to be a huge piece that this new superintendent is goingon to have to be aware of and these two alone are two issues that help us around our not only the recruitment efforts but how we screen the applicants because having experience in these two areas would be important right uh morale um I think that that is something that um is continuously a journey um for a lot of districts who've gone through some you know um uh challenges um having you know been in the news right sometimes the the perception of what's Happening can affect morale um areas of trust um is definitely something to continue to build on and again the retention piece right making sure we retain um and again that narrative around the district um does impact morale and last but not least the fourth one is the characteristics so what do um your uh community members feel about what they want to see in the next superintendent and this again think about the criteria that you all selected so it's interesting how they see a lot of similarities to what you're looking for so someone who can be collaborative right work with the community members work with staff really involve people in the decision-making process um someone who can be very um much uh well let me back up the um the Creator and I would even say maintaining those Partnerships you have is super important um someone that can collaborate from a community standpoint also communication so having someone who can be very um much a listener but also effective in their communication transparency has come up quite a number of times so someone who can really communicate clearly and um help um not only staff but also Community feel like it's a transparent space and communication is a huge one um sometimes repairing that narrative that PR came up again how do you promote your District um the community involvement being visible so definitely somebody who's going to be out there right in the schools in the community um very present came up quite a bit um someone who can uh Reach Out and be accessible but also know how to balance right so I want to say that because balancing Community involvement is actually tricky it's like how do you have a good balance where you allow um yourself to be engaged with the community but also that it's not an a um an opportunity for the community to then also what I call have certain distractions of the work and so when you unpack that right there are some priorities of a school district and that's why communication is so important when we talk about balancing how you involve the Community there are roles of Staff there's roles of the board role of superintendent and Community plays a role as well and so helping to teach that as well what are the role that we all play but being very transparent and communicating is important um you can see a lot of uh bur points under this next one the Visionary leadership piece that actually aligns a lot with some of the things you said in your criteria so having someone who's going to be a Visionary um who's you seek some of the great uh ways that people have responded to um someone who's going to be inspiration right someone who's going to really um be clear on their um Vision but also be proactive someone is not going to be in the reactive space and that's going to be important to consider um and being here for the long term so that's actually a conversation we've had with several applicants is like you plan on staying because that's what people want right they don't want someone who's going to come and go very quickly because that's very hard to establish that uh community and collaborative peace um someone who's going to be politically Savvy um on a variety of levels right obviously um this is an election year so that will be something that they're going to have to know how to navigate from not just your local level but from a national level so also the politics of knowing how to work with a governance team right so knowing the role of superintendent and how to have a positive working relationship with their five bosses right is super important um but being politically Savvy understanding how to navigate those roles um valuing the staff that came up so really um there's I think there's a lot of healing that probably um has been shared so just the value making people feel valued um really spending that time showing empathy and really genuinely helping people to feel like there's an authentic care um ethical um so that came up a few times um having a moral compass making sure there's honesty transparency um and a feeling like building that trust again um culturally competent so I know um calling out being an equity leader we were really happy to see that there's a sense um of wanting to have someone who's really strong in equity social justice work um some someone who um understands all different cultural differences and the needs um knowing that you have different students from ethnic and gender um religion this is a diverse community so it's very unique when we talk about being a culturally competent person um so definitely in our lens of of uh looking at screening people this is something that's super important and really glad your community values that um and then the last two is just an educator right that whole achievement Gap and really working on academics somebody who's been an instructional leader right somebody really has that experience um in instruction and really has a vision for how to um really close the gaps um including not just academics but also the social emotional side we know the whole child is super important and um you know I'll say the the financially Savvy um based on the budget that's going to be a big one right someone who's been able to um have the experience of understanding how to run a district um understanding the Dynamics you have with your budget so you can see those are um just themes that came up for the four questions if you go through and look at all of the different um uh responses we typed in as best we could exact responses we redacted any names or any um like attacks on anyone we always make sure we um keep that in mind but you can also see the number of people that were part of each of those categories okay and so if you notice um the uh in person is the first part of the report and then when you get to page 30 30 I think it cuts off 32 you'll then go into the um the actual survey and you can see the responses from the survey which is uh this kind of blue color so that's going into page uh 33 and you can actually see um kind of a theme from the online surveys as well and then you'll see that we actually includeed starting on it's a a new page page one I think we called it after the online survey you got the actual responses if you want to see what people share okay and so um it's kind of a overview this again is considered to be a public document that you know applicants will see you can place on the website make sure it is um available for the community um to look at but I want to pause and just see what questions you have um and again thank you for allowing us to to meet with the different groups because um and might want to make sure we commend her on hurting the cats helping us hurt the cats like she's very helpful and I think you got a good representation of course we'd always want more voices but I think you got a good representation of your Community um probably more students we would have loved to have more students but it is summertime and they want to have nothing to do with us in the summer so questions or thoughts about the stakeholder report yeah I want to thank you for doing your best to engage our families yeah um and Community considering all things you know such a short time and summer and all the things you mentioned um and I want to thank all those that got involved you know and that answered the email or the phone call or you know whatever it was um to me this is one of like the key areas when we're doing the interviews I have my own um and being from community and the parent myself you know a lot of the same things align so like you said right like when we were choosing the different um areas um you know it it makes sense so I'm like okay we're not you know I'm not I'm not that far off I'm a board member but um we we are thinking the same and um from it was important to hear and make sure that um if there was anything that was missing you know that that we we um make sure to take note so thank you for you know the very I I was able to just kind of you know look through them but I look forward to just diving deep before the interviews and ensure that um if there is anything else that I might have missed um and then also as a board member right like you said the areas of growth um how we can grow as a board absolutely um and some of the things we you know we might have known or we might be feeling but um just to have that confirmation you know also for our next superintendent or our current one you know some of the areas that he'll help in uh but also our next one and how we're going to be able to grow as a district I look forward to it thank you abely absolutely thank you any other trusty comment well thank uh D you know thank you so much mcperson and Jacobson for this report and I like to say you know I like to see the glass half full but uh at the same time you know uh we need work right I want to say this district is a work in progress and it's sort of like a like a good old house right some there are you know sometime we have to replace the wall or the kitchen sink and uh so thank you very much for uh you know cond conduc in conducting the survey and to get get you know get so many respondents in such a short amount of time and I know this we we have this compressed timeline here so I wanted to express my appreciation and also you know let the community know that we we hope to hear more from all of you as we you know get closer to appointing the new superintendent thank you um also my gratitude to the work in um I mean between the eth and the 15th that's a lot of conversation so um I do think this as a as an artifact right I think is going to be super valuable um to the board to the community it actually even though it's under 3% it feels validating whether it's you know the special ed program pulling that out and just pulling out nuggets that um I think we don't get a chance to really talk about very much um and you know the flip side of it right it's it's it's like these are I like the the glow and grow right you know it's it's it's a strong program and say special end but then you go further and it's like okay but it doesn't have the support that it needs right so what are our systemic you know um responsibilities towards that or the variety of our resources and programs but then if you go to the students the students say not enough extracurricular activities right so how do you kind of um tease all of this out so I think it's a a great tool that should sort of be used by the board for the superintendence whether it's the work plan or to kind of see so where are we in two years maybe based on this so thank you um again under you know difficult circumstances you made it work so thank you oh thank you for the work um very U I'm glad that we went with a good firm that's been able to go through a comprehensive process uh and for um letting us Z right from the getg go then you were able to get it done even under the time constraints uh and so that was very um uh reassuring and so to see it happen and come to fruition is great I we're only part of the way there but I'm glad that we're here it's looking good the data and the information we're getting is excellent U the stuff regarding areas for growth is always welcom needed uh you're gonna constantly engage in um trying to fix things you need you need that input and it's also excellent to see the great feedback that uh the folks from the community are given regarding uh our departments their responsiveness um it's U clear that there's a lot of folks out there that might not come to the meetings but they they have a perspective in this case they' shared it and so it's great to have all of the input and I think it benefits it's all so thank you for the work um when I spoke to Dr Daniel um two days ago um he asked me if we had or if I had any questions and I said no it was so clear and concise that I had none so that's when you know that you've done a good job is when you answered all the questions thank you very much for all the work thank you appreciate it right so next steps you want to point out this is also already posted on your website on tonight's board agenda um and uh we will move that posting over to the updates on the superintendent search and it's also now on our website as a company so yeah it's getting well publicized as well the next piece is kind a a short piece right now we'll go more into depth about the interview process next time we meet but what we need to try to set up now between that time is what is the process you want to use and when I say we're looking at two different options here one is where the board itself does the interviews uh of the uh applicants that you decide that you want to talk to version two is where you have the board and a stakeholders group conduct interviews now it need to be clear the stakeholders group does not make a recommendation to you they will interview the same people you interview What We Gather from them from the interviews is what do you see as the strengths from this candidate and what are the questions that you still have after speaking with this candidate that's what we bring back to you there's not this is our favorite this is our second favorite etc etc because that decision is yours this is as we've said all along this is the most important decision you as a board have to make so the question becomes do you want to do that now these interviews all occur on at the same time while you're while you're interviewing one candidate the stakeholders are interviewing another candidate and then you you switch um and then at the end of the day we gather all the information and bring that back we need to know which way we want to okay vice president kto uh in your experience um because my concern is our ability to attract the widest pool that we can if uh we have a stakeholders group that could possibly leak out names of people who've interviewed um would that be something that might turn off some potential candidates who are not 100% sure that they want to let their employers know that they're out there looking um is that a is is that a is that might that be a concern or is I'm I'm just coming out of nowhere with that sometimes a concern what we will have and we'll have you do the same thing we have you sign a confidentiality stat um and what we would have if you have a stakeholders group they sign that as well we really were to enforce that there's always there's not always a guarantee had one situation where somebody was texting uh as they were interviewing and you know we didn't know about it until after everything was done um so you do that's that's always in Jeopardy we really we're talking to you and the stakeholders group really emphasize the importance of confidentiality we also say when they if you selected an applicant to interview one of the questions we ask that applicant H who knows does your board know you're doing this uh what have you because pretty much once they start to interview the word gets out there that uh you know we're talking so and so what have you so we really encourage the applicant to make sure that he or she lets their supervisor no I'm I'm about to interview you um question about um using the board and stakeholder process in other districts like how large have the stakeholder groups been what do you recommend um just given our diverse population right it could be a full of stakeholders right that's or or how small should it could it be you want to respond it's okay I just want to finish like kind of uh responding also about that concern and then definitely great question um I I will say this is I think search number 15 for me um and I have not had the experience of um any breaches of confidentiality um I think it's a facilitation process that is very very important for us um often joke with folks about they're going to see Mama Nicole come out um is that we absolutely think it's essential that um this is someone's career their livelihood so we spend a lot of time prepping the stakeholder group to understand why that is so critical um I will say this if you we've had a couple of boards that decided not to do the stakeholder panel and there it comes with also um some concerns from Community who do want to give input but also they need to also be taught and we do a whole orientation to help them understand their role right their go is to give input through strengths and concerns but not to give a ranking not to tell the board who to hire and that is our role and our responsibility as facilitators and I take it very very seriously but I know that boards have expressed if they know and they feel that there's a concern about confidentiality remember you choose who goes in that interview panel also so I think that's important to recognize that um there is the value of having it is that you're having this input in another layer of information um that you can consider when you deliberate but I will say that again in all the searches I've done I've not had that experience um but I do recognize the risk right like the concern and the risk and so our applicants know that you know this is a process and I haven't had anyone say they want to pull out because of it but I do know people ask right and it is something that um we do take very seriously um including the board right like we said all boards too this is confidential and this only stays in this space too because because we know how small the education world is I mean people know people and so we want to respect like the livelihood and careers of our of our um our applicants so with that being said I'm not as concerned but it is something that you have to consider um because I've not had that experience yet and that was I'm losing track of how many searches I've done now but it has not been an experience yet um and I hope it would never be but there have been occasions very very rare um so I didn't want discard that question but I wanted to just follow and make sure you heard the other perspective and Nicole's been lucky it was my second one that I was on where we did have a breach and like I said there was issues afterwards and the district dealt with it but we try as Nicole points out to put the fear of word fear God in you know yeah this is meant to be confidential and we really work hard of that when the question of size I can tell you there was another one I worked on where we had over 30 people on the stakeholder group it was too large it was it was very difficult to manage there was two of us trying to manage the stakeholder group um because it just got unwieldy um you know maybe half of that because once you start thinking you you you would want your associations included in there um you would want probably some representation from your parent leadership group that sort of thing some of the same people same organizations that you identified for us to talk to as stakeholders um and so it's a matter of how much and some boards have even said okay we each want to select one person again we need to worry about sides you know because it becomes unmanageable otherwise I hope that answer you she that on the okay um something like a 7eleven committee or something like that would be the appropriate size probably if it works for making big facility decisions uh I've seen uh other groups that have gone through a process in order to gather a wide enough pool they've they've had a process where they've not has stakeholders uh at the at the front end but when they do get to the finalist uh there's an opportunity to engage in a if somebody's going to go for the and and if they're going for a final spot then at that point they have to be open to talking to their employers they're not going for the like a they're not taking a not just AIT application that's not even going to get selected and they're going to be outed in this case they're going for the top spot so um have you seen that in other districts where they they possibly have gone through the process amongst themselves uh haven't had stakeholder groups at the front end but with the finalists have opened it up and have allowed uh the F the the finalist to get in interviewed or in in this case they had like these gatherings it wasn't a formal interview but they were able to answer questions and it was kind of an informal setting where a group of people were able to engage with them well part of particular with stakeholders on the informal is you really got to watch what questions they're asking because there's many questions that are illegal to ask that for any of us to ask I personally have not done what if I understand what you're suggesting is once you as a board of ID identified maybe the top two or three the stakeholder group then talks to those folks is that my understanding yeah that's what I've seen in another district and that is something that we could set up if that's the way this board chose to go I personally have not done it that way and I don't know Nicole if you have I would say um ironically like we're a national search firm so it's interesting in other states um this is a open process actually for superintendent um and so it's kind of awkward but um what we could do is cater it to what you want um I would say that the second round so like you know you pick two days right so you could say hey maybe on day two that you want to have um the finalist and maybe it's you narrowed down to two and you want to allow them to go through a process um and it is I would say it's more formal so you want to cater the question so it's guided um and again facilitated right um but also you can have your own informal process where you can um we call it the social component and you can also have time to meet them um from an informal space right just kind of getting the Vibes and spending time usually have two board members at a time um and do a little rotation um and so it's really up to you and we wouldn't decide that tonight because you don't know how many people you're going to even interview right but that is something to consider but I think what Dr Dan is kind of getting at tonight is you need to decide if that's something you want to do because there's a process for you actually bringing in your interview uh group from your stakeholders because you it's an ad hoc committee right so now this is a group that you have to appoint um and that does take a little bit of time uh because you need to identify you can have to reach out there there's a little bit of work to do that and then you have to make like actually take action to them I do have a question um what have you seen that works better seen them work both ways actually I've had districts were own the board actually the last two I did was where only the board interviewed it was the last two searches I did also had searches that already mentioned one search where they had the stakeholder group of over 30 people um which was unring I said that we go with that many but and it works quite president I think she was next and then you I was just gonna ask um Dr that right no okay myself um what in your experience um you've seen and what you might suggest based on what we heard to well you've it's been done a lot of different ways there's some districts recently just appointed without a search at all that's one option um I've been involved I remember when I was a principal we're hiring actually director hiring a superintendent was an open session um with the board interviewing the superintendent an open session and we were allowed to give input ahead of time on this basis um and then also just the board interviews alone so I think it's something worth discussing it depends on the sense of the community I've only been here a short time my inclination is um maybe some Community involvement may be helpful to you down the line but you know that's something for discussion but there like I said 30 sounds like a lot Daniel that's like you know I'm not sure I'd go 30 but um I think given the circumstances of the community something might want to think about getting them all the same room exactly exact just given a little context of what our process is is um typically no more than 15 yeah um and I can actually give you um numbers you know so typically like there's a composition and you select what that is so you you pick um and so typically like an example if you're going to do you do seven of Staff seven Community which can include parents right like it's a mixture within that Community making sure you have at least one student um is super important and so you would determine like what that staff is and as Dr Dan said you'd have your union representation right a lot of what you kind of did during your stakeholder space but you would select who they are and in just to kind of reiterate what Dr Barbara said is that um our opinion right now like I like doing anything with stakeholders being involved because I feel like that's the most transparent process and that's what we stand for and it just allows them to be a part of the process from start to finish while also understanding they do not make the decision you are the only ones who decide who your one employee is and that has to be clear from you to those that are you're inviting to be a part of a process that they don't have to be a part of so I think it's just being really clear and transparent but I I would think based on just what came up even in stakeholder space is that being a part of the process maybe a good thing because of a couple things one is this new person this is like an introduction right to some key stakeholders you have versus a stranger showing up right first day and it's like hey here's our new superintendent they've never seen anyone right but if people who are a part of that actually and have been in the process that actually is kind of a nice welcome right when they've been in the space um um during the process but didn't necessarily select that person they just gave input on the process and gave input um about each candidate so that would be like my my professional thought but it is something you have to feel comfortable with so I think you covered a lot of things I was going to say so um I'm in agreement I think we need we need to involve the community um and I think it shows that they will respond right to emails calls whatever it was in the short period of time so we have a pool already we have people that you know are willing to to be involved so that's great um I see nothing but you know Pros toward involving the community um but I think the biggest one is that lack of trust right and we continue to put out you know Community involvement then what does that say and so um you know I I am Community I'm a parent you know I was parent first and foremost to before becoming a Schoolboard member so um I think involving Community is going to be key and I don't know if it's a recommendation or motion that uh we do um at this point I know that we are no it's not okay doing um okay I'm sorry we're still doing quesy comments we're not GNA well it would do a motion uh to involve uh Community input um we'll call for it when it's when we're ready we're going to take his comments next you'll call for the motion okay so um again I think uh I trust in who you will involve but definitely you know involving um our our union rep Representatives um and all those that you know were mentioned before and if we all get to pick one you know I mean I have several names great thank you vice president kto um yeah I'm kind of torn uh because I do want um to have Community involvement but I I'm aware of the history of this district and what the the Anderson the experience that You' had is has sometimes not reflected what's taking place in this district and and it's not involving superintendent it's out a different levels where confidentially have been breached and it's C and it's caused significant strip for people's lives and I don't want to see that happen uh and I don't want to see us not get a a big enough pool because um the word gets out there Ah that's a district where people talk uh and so I was trying to figure out how we can strike a a balance here getting a big enough pool but then getting then Prov getting Community input uh at some point Point um so I that's my it's just based off of experience that I've lived here in alen rock um and um that is a a concern that I do have but um I I could go either way um my my ideal my my thoughts would be that we'd probably not have more than 11 people I think it's unwieldy 7 11 committee brings in the input for taking big decis uh big decisions and I think that would be a good fit for us I think it would allow us all our stakeholders to get uh a a space and then each board member would be able to appoint a design um as happens in in other jurisdictions and so that's something that I would be comfortable with but 15 seems kind of unwieldy uh for me so those are my thoughts I have a question um I think less is more and so reducing the number to 11 how would you recommend um like before you said seven staff seven Community how would you recommend the 11 what we would need to do is break it down we need to sit back and go right you have three associations in the district so there's three spots right off the top how do you identify your um parent leadership you should have a district administrator and some districts go with a district level administrator and a site level administrator um or and or from another Department not necessarily in the certificated RS only um you each then decide on either a staff member or a Community member that you feel confident in and that's would be your suggestions back to us so it would be 11 so it' be minus three because of the Union so we're looking at basically eight uh others okay they and and just for clarification the applications have closed they closed on Monday of this week so now if anybody fears we really haven't had anybody get excited or over anxious about this they would be dropping out completely because the applications are in and and one consideration um we can do a tally of what you all want to how your composition is but one consideration is that second round of interviews could be also a thought and again you don't have to determine that today because you don't know how many people you're interviewing yet but when we meet with you on August 6 um you'll know like what your pool is going to look like that's when you create the schedule right and then that's when you determine where you want to put the stakeholder group in but the key tonight is with this composition you do have to choose like okay here's the number we want and then we will work with you and and usually like your assistant to uh the point of contact UM works with us in between that and then you're GNA have to come back and actually appoint them in a regular board meeting because it's an ad hoc committee and so you'll have some time to think about you don't have to do it tonight but um it is something that uh we do want to make sure if you have you know particular ones you know like your union reps you know who they are but you are going to have to determine that and then on August 6 you can determine how you want them to fit in that space the catch is that it's communicating to make sure they have it on their calendar so if you're going to pick folks like immediately you got to make sure they know hey save this dat to save that date and that is important because if it is a two-day process you want to have them as a part of then they have to know that they commit to that so we usually also ask for alternates because you you don't want to have it where they're there one day and not another like that doesn't work well so you want to have it as consistent if I'm there day one I need to be there day two but again a lot of this you don't know yet because you don't have your your uh candidates your interview needs selected yet but you want to be really U clear and communicating with the group that you're going to appoint so that they have it on their calendars and are available and again A lot of times what happens you ask your union rep and then you ask for they usually kind of talk about like maybe there's someone within membership that they want to have as an alternate right but ultimately you decide who you appoint okay it is not the community telling you who to have on the it is your decision um what that looks like so um I think that would be kind of the last piece for this um and then you all will have to look at your um uh can't remember the board meeting but you um have to appoint them at a reue board meeting I want to make sure you understand six you said sorry I'm just a regular board meeting and August is August 8th so and you mentioned August 6 is when we would be meeting again correct right will determine how many you're interviewing and who you're inter okay so first I'm going to ask for a motion do I have a motion to accept the stakeholder report uh so move uh do I have a second second um no public comment okay so we're still doing trustee comments um so uh do have a motion on how many um the number motion to do we have to the number tell us um to involve stakeholders motion to involve stakeholders as well I'd like to formalize the motion or narrow down to the amount uh motion I've heard 11 so motion to have up to 11 uh stakeholders also involved uh in our interviewing and um our super ask you for five for the board and then their balance made up of St I have a I have a question because on the first motion did you guys take a vote on it or uh let's take a vote uh all in favor to have to accept the stakeholder report uh raise your hand so it's unanimous 5 thank you so if I can Amit second can you please a wait uh truste uh excuse me vice president kto can you say what you just said again I didn't hear you I I can make a motion on my own given the fact that there was no it was theemotion was improper we have a motion on the floor is there a wait a second was never second can you want to make your motion uh vatto our motion is to accept uh stakeholder input and maximum of 11 that five board members be authorized to designate each uh uh have a designate each and that um the each Union get a representative and then the rest U be composed of of parent leaders and the formal stakeholders that you uh would bring to us the recommendation so let me get that straight you want to repeat that Mar did you get that I got that he wants to accept the stakeholder to 11 and that each board member would choose one right correct and then um each Union would you know um have one person to represent and um then we would have the rest of the stakeholder groups okay and and also can you add um and they're alternate alternate for the for the unions and they're alternate so that way that would be that we so that that way we don't have to you know reappoint Nam so the the unions and their alternate all right the union represent representativ and altern okay uh I'll second um can we ensure that one of the 11 is a student well I'm asking the maker of the motion um in we're at Keith R district is it normal practice to have a younger person be part of a have high school students but I will tell you the the couple of eight graders we had they were delightful and they had some real insight for them to say we need more trash cans not just in the cafeteria I thought that's they care about yeah V your experience has worked out while then I I would support it yeah I'll amend motion to include one one student so so you want to read maybe the what the composition could be just to have Clarity for the 11 make we're clear then we can connect with Mell to make sure we work with each of you on your five that you have each board member would have five design okay no one and then you'd have your three Union uh unions give um one representative to be on the panel then one alternate right correct okay and then in that other composition just to include make sure there's a district office administrator there's a site administrator um I have on here possibly two parents could be an option one student um I'm putting here one Community member but you could increase that but the last two um in that process could also be an additional classify an additional teacher if you would like to also have outside of Union representation is membership if that make sense that sounds like a lot more than 11 no that's 11 three four five six seven eight nine 10 11 so three Union reps okay the F and so as you pick your five that is the categories to consider who you're picking right so yes you all would pick one but think about who you'd be picking and so um having your appointed one of you might say I want a Community member right one of you might say hey I want to um have pick someone from the district office but I just want to give you a sense of who you would have as your options if that's something you'd like to do does that make sense and I'm assuming that when you're mentioning parents you would grab you would select them or they would come out of a formal uh group parent groups within the district because it would typically your leadership site leadership your parent groups what that's 11 y yeah okay um I I think you had a were next you had your hand up and and you still want to that was to second okay um anybody else okay um I haven't heard from men fan [Laughter] today okay just trying to give everybody a chance now okay um so we have a first and the second and so um usually we would have Community input but there's no community so uh no public there um so I guess we can vote we're going to all be voting for exactly what they said 11 total each uh trustee picks one three unions one student one community and one district office um I'm going to call everybody uh trustee uh erera hi uh vice president PTO hi uh trusty minan I uh trusty Andrea Flor selton yes and I so it's unanimous 5 so you got this in your mind we' got direction we're going to approach the association he to select one person that's their prerogative who they select so sometimes you may say oh person well asking the associations and typically it's the leadership of the association somebody leadership but as Nicole pointed out one of the things is we've got to make sure they're available all day for both days you know like this worried now I'm worried about student Dr Barbara just so that we clarified they're not making a recommendation to the board they're just providing input yes corre has to be clear in the resolution thank you for that we're making the decision yes thank you for that the board will be making the decision that's right that's right you still want to do that okay work with M to make sure that the language is clear um that you know they really understand what they're signing up for as well yeah that's also important and we are also available always like if you have questions about the process even you know in between these meetings like just let us know but um uh working with moille you all should start thinking about who that person is so you can have those names and then what'll happen is you'll come to your regular board meetings you have to provide all those names at the public conversation and um assuming that they you know got that invite um and hopefully agree and then you all have to actually adopt it because it is an ad hoc committee okay so next meeting we have an ad hoc committee your Nomes nominees uhuh nominees nominees and take action okay so we're good at this point session okay so we're gonna uh go to close session now at 7:26 and we I could ask for a five minute and you got till 7:32 I'll give you one more six minutes s uh is there any public comment for Clos session uh seeing there's none and then we're going to go to close session now after the break e e e so we have Quorum and we're back from close session um there's nothing to report out and the meeting is adjourned at 8:20 let's go no

I know I get home I'm you know I should be on a walk

in attendance from administration were Dr Robert toy Mr Jenaro Mr shihada Mr doctor Mrs Nola Mr Mountain Board of educ members in attendance were myself commissioner Kenova commissioner siano and president Paris additional guests in attendance were Vanessa Gaba and Robert uh bertolini from Christopher Columbus Middle School Mr Mountain explained that all security referendum related projects mentioned in previous meetings are continuing as planned this includes firewalls internet circuit uh internet circuit and router upgrades and Wi-Fi access point Replacements the new student Chromebook order has been allocated and devices are being prepped offsite expected delivery is early August Commissioners brought up poor cellular service at CHS and other schools Mr Mountain will contact providers to investigate options for improving their service in and around our buildings Commissioners also brought up a concern with Chromebooks accessing board docs Etc during our meetings these meetings future upgrades should alleviate these issues and a member of the tech team will be on hand at the next Boe meeting to facilitate if needed and they are here and have been here so thank you Mr doctor updated the committee on 12 additional students found not living in Clifton due to doile investigations for a savings of $182,100 this brings the school year-to-date savings uh of 1,268 242 Mr doctor also explained a proposal to hire two part-time staff members to act as attendance agents to assist in reducing chronic absenteeism throughout the district these staff members would take a preventative a preventative uh a preventive approach to the problem and utilize direct contact with the student and family to resolve issues be before poor attendance Begins the committee approved the idea with a three to zero vote finally Mr doctor shared a request by a staff member who utilizes the tuition program for their child to forego tuition in the student senior year discussion occurred and all the board members provided their input Dr Rober toy will decide the next steps in the matter Miss anola explained that the district has met all requirements outlined by New Jersey school drill law Clifton police have attended more of our drills than any other school year in addition OSP has once again reached out to Clifton to host a site for NJ dooe school safety training uh this summer Clifton Public Schools also apply for two Department of Justice federal grants directly related to stopping violence in schools and responses to security incidents miss zenola and miss rosza jointly attended the New Jersey school safety seminar using Behavior threat assessment to prevent targeted School violence sponsored by the US Secret Service Clifton Public Schools was recognized twice throughout the presentations on both the state and National level for our efforts in the hardening physical security and softening pbsis of schools Mrs anla mentioned that the district will be hosting the Clifton Police Department active shooter drills over the summer at our school buildings no students will be present for these drills in addition the junior Police Academy started June 4 and to open the ceremonies there was a helicopter landing at uh CHS finally vice principal berini pitched a new product to the committee to monitor student migration via digital pass it was approved for one-year trial to see if there's a benefit to using the product the meeting adjourned at 7:30 any questions Commissioners any questions I have a question um the hotline are we still using that and do have we had a lot of payouts on the hotline for uh res uh referring to the anonymous tip line yes uh every year we're pretty consistent there are a few every year so this year absolutely we have had a few whether they're utilizing the hotline or reaching out to Mr doctor and his team directly uh but we are still paying the the bounties for non-resident students thank you commissioner Suarez thank you this is just for clarification um can you please let me know what op stands for so aspep is the abbreviation for the uh New Jersey Department of education's office of school preparedness and emergency planning uh they are considered the gurus of School Safety and Security throughout the state and our our direct source for uh all the initiatives that we've implemented in our school district come directly from aspat anyone else any other questions okay moving on to HSA booster club meeting commissioner bassford please thank you um we had our HSA booster club um combined meeting um it happened on June 17th at 6:30 the meeting was opened uh we had a lot of people in attendance um Amed shahida opened the meeting introducing the attendees and their affiliations including Administration HSA presidents booster club presidents the Clifton Education Foundation representatives and pomptonian uh the Board of Education from the Board of Education president was President Paris uh vice president Dr Dany uh Miss Suarez and myself we had some lengthy discussions uh event planning and cost management we discussed planning the events like Trunk or Treats and coordinating with pomptonian for supplies to help reduce the cost to the hsas Alex Rosenberg discussed offering catering services and helping booster clubs with the concession stands field trip and transportation this is a big topic with the uh elementary schools with their field trips we addressed the elementary time for a limited time for field trips due to bus schedules suggestions um to extend Time by cater uh chartering additional uh buses and shared course between the Board of Ed and the hsas Google directory and communication platform and calendar coordination proposal was um made for a centralized communication platform for not only the hsas but also the booster clubs using a Google directory and calendar system the clipon uh school email accounts for the hsas were suggested as well and I believe we also suggested that for the booster clubs too so they could access the calendar um school supplies list standardizing and making school supply list uh accessible on the district website was discussed with updates to be posted by the end of the school year website updates are submitted to building principles and approval to sent to J horn and Samantha D roza for the website booster club concerns uh discussion regarding booster club handling of the concession at the stadium recognition of contribution Loretta Amed discussed the Clifton Education Foundation support for teachers and HSA initiatives through grants and fundraising events our meeting adjourned at 7:30 mostly every school was listed I'm not going to um say who was there from each school but mostly every HSA principals and or Administration was there representing their schools any questions thank you okay thank you commissioner bassford uh commissioner brunak would you please read the facilities committee meetings thank you Mr President the last facilities committee meeting occurred on July 1st 2024 those present were myself commissioner siano commissioner Kenova Dr Robert toy Mr Jenaro Mr shahada Mr Maldonado Mr Marion Mr Ido and Mr Watkins meeting started at 3:30 adjourned at 352 items of discussion with the referendum update epic gave an overview of what has taken place thus far in the referendum and what is taking place throughout the rest of the year Package 2 and 2A are complete working on the bathrooms and security vestibules and other buildings expected to be done January 2025 for package four package three spring of 2025 CHS package 1 winter 2024 still waiting on electrical parts that are delayed number number two was the plaque Mr shahada emailed the entire board with Renditions and the pricing details for both plaques each plaque is set to cost $5,600 bringing the total to 11,200 for both this price was a result of negotiations with Mr shahada ensuring that the quality Integrity of the plaques were not compromised despite the cost of a reduction the board reviewed the Renditions and expressed satisfaction with the design and pricing noting that the negotiated price reflects a balance between cost Effectiveness and maintaining high standards being updates the black top and the pothole repairs the city of Clifton city of Clifton DPW will commence black top and potholes rep pothole repairs in mid July this project aims to address the deteriorating conditions of the roads and improve safety for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic the DPW will prioritize the areas with most significant damage and will work in coordination with local schools to minimize disruptions during the repair period woodro Wilson Middle School library Media Center renovation the renovation of woodro Wilson Middle School library media center is scheduled to take place over the summer the project will involve installing a new drop ceiling upgrading the lighting to energy efficient fixtures replacing the flooring with durable modern materials and providing new ergonomic Furniture these improvements are designed to create a more inviting and functional space for students and staff the target completion date is set for the beginning of September in time for the new school year gutter guards installation gutter guards have been successfully installed at school three and school 5 these guards are intended to prevent leaves and debris from clogging the gutters reducing maintenance needs and preventing water damage to the buildings the installation was completed on schedule and initial feedback from maintenance staff has been positive regarding the effectiveness of the guards parking plans for school number 11 the parking plans for school number 11 have been awarded to contractor DNR with with Rodney scene overseeing the scheduling and execution of the project the new parking layout will include additional spaces to accommodate staff and visitors improve traffic flow and enhanced safety Fe features such as better lighting and clear signage the timeline for the project start and completion will be communicated once the scheduling is finalized boiler replacement at school 17 one of the boilers at school 17 will be replaced with a new Airco Platinum boiler this replacement is necessary to ensure Reliable Heating and improve Energy Efficiency within the school the new boiler has a lead time of approximately 4 weeks for delivery installation will be in schedu will be scheduled immediately upon arrival to minimize any disruption to school operations custodial maintenance and maintenance team job opportunities interviews for job opportunities within the custo custodial and maintenance team will begin this week the positions available include both full time and part-time roles with responsibilities ranging from routine cleaning and maintenance to specialized tasks requiring technical skills the hiring process aims to fill these positions promptly to support the ongoing maintenance and operational needs of the school facilities use of facilities the committee engaged in a comprehensive discussion regarding the use of facilities over the summer key topics included the status of pending permits the feasibility of accommodating various activities and the potential of impact on schedule summer athletic programs committee members Express concerns about ensuring all the necessary permits are obtained in a timely manner to avoid any disruptions they also explored how to best coordinate the use of facilities to balance the needs of the athletic programs with other community and school events additionally there was an emphasis placed on maintaining safety and access accessibility standards while maximizing the utilization of available spaces little free pantry the committee discussed the proposal presented by doc presented to Dr robertto by a Community member to install little free pantries on school grounds these pantries would provide students the opportunity to assist their classmates by collecting food food donations additionally local community members would be encouraged to contribute to the pantries the committee wanted to further discuss this at a later date does anyone have any questions I I just have a a comment and and that's concerning uh the help we're getting from the city of Clifton just an example of some shared services that is saving uh saving us some money and utilizing our capabilities with the city so we thank the city for their cooperation and assistance in this pothole repair that they have the Manpower and the equipment to uh to help with so it's deeply appreciated by the board any other questions okay um uh commissioner brunak you're up again Finance minutes please thank you Mr President those in attendance who are myself commissioner Santiago commissioner Mahia Mr jenero Mr shahada and Mr Uchi meeting started at 5:00 p.m.

and first on our agenda after that is the clerk's report Kate thank you madam chair we have received one correspondant from the public since the last planning board meeting which was responded to by the clerk on behalf of the board great thank you next on our agenda moving right along is public comment so uh Peter I will let you manage all public comment if you don't mind sure so um prior to um moving forward to the one gentleman in the room that had public comment I just want to let everyone know that uh Mr Mark donon um who is at the microphone at the podium currently um he did submit a handwritten letter which is in everyone's binder tonight so uh with that said I will open public comment up uh in the room first to Mr Mark donon Mark I'm just going to turn the video on hold on a second has to unmute all right thank you okay thank you good evening mark he can stay M because his volume is going through the microphone so I'll just mute you real quick but you're good all right out in the cave back into the land good evening Mark Sony for9 haon roadms and thank you Peter for setting me up I did send in a piece piece of paper about zoning bylaws and I'd like to ask go go through the board that they uh what the youve been talking about you want to have Mee and everything and this is my way of saying that I want to be uh part of it so I sent in this to the planner Mr Peter there I'm the other day and this is what you got so if you can look it over I I will ask any I'd like I'd like to make a comment okay so I think this is um sort of good time in the second part of our meeting is like um a retreat about our work plan and the board has been thinking about I don't think we're quite ready to talk about any like attacking specific bylaws because I don't know if you saw the agenda it has many many things that Retreat and we'll probably have to prioritize but I assume some of them should be attacking bylaws right so I think when we get there they they absolutely we would want a public part of that process right and I think there's probably a way to integrate Mark with that yeah I think with with any obviously bylaws that we tackle the it it's required that the public be part of the process so yeah 100% And that's that's was one one of is is I wanted to hear and a little PS is to thank you Miss Kathy JK for your email back to me and my reply back to you it did help and this was the content that I sent up here to the U to the rest of the board here to continue on it's not just with the comprehensive plan it's going to be with the planning board because the planning board is part Zone and bylaws in their CH so I want us to come in and be involved in this together all every member either through EMA email Zoom meeting I I come up to my house and residence and do it inside there and and to work it through before you get to September 4th if possible September 4th is a big compreh hasive plan with the select board and I figure got to understand the regulations and everything to have a smooth talk over both with both uh boards that's why I want to get involved in with the boards themselves to to see CU I when I last time I did this was around 2016 2017 with the um pH base code got that pass in this town that's why I have some of the experience doing this and I wanted to show and give back to everything does that sound good to you Mr chairman well certainly we're going to be looking at zoning Mark but I don't think anything's going to be happening that quickly to September 4th we only have two me meetings in there um and one of them I know several of our members won't be at I I don't think we're going to get there that quickly to suggest zoning before comprehensive plan I think we're really looking for a little bit more the opposite process that comprehensive plan will help guide us on zoning so um it may not happen that that quickly but we are as as Kate said we are looking in our agenda for later in this meeting to to talk talk more more specifically you know starting to look at what are our goals with with zoning so that's all I can it's General but that's all I have right now so so when the planning board itself starts separate for what comprehensive plan is figure I can work with the plan board themselves and go with what you have with what I gave Trisha could I make a comment that I think will help Mark I I read your comment and there's there's some themes you seem to care deeply about commercial Ventures entrepreneurial businesses you have interest in that and as you can see part of our agenda for our Retreat later tonight includes things that relate to business whether it's zoning downtown for hotels or discussing bylaws for short-term rentals talking to um the ashin cultural Council about using art with private spaces there's things on our Retreat list that relate to business so my thought would be because you come to almost every one of our meetings you seem to have a lot of interest in planning is maybe see if you can help us find more information about some of the things that we keep talking about in our retreats in our meetings so if you're interested in accessory dwelling units which seems to constantly come up for us maybe help us find other community drafts of zoning so I feel like you come to every meeting you're very engaged you want to help us out if you pick one of these things that we keep talking about and give us memos on those things that would be a productive way to help us that that sounds agreeable and what I did write down on the pieces on the piece of paper that you all have K right straight from the from the town website is zoning regulations i c copied them so figure if you look into them that I I brought up there it might give you ideas where I am and how you said that Annie that and that's that is is my thicken but I figured if I try to upgrade so everything could be going forward together I would like to be in that group in that upgrade system yeah we don't uh we don't have a specific plan about how we're going forward uh yet but um but we have your document and so uh obviously we'll be here discussing it at other times too so you'll be able to follow the progress on where we're going with this so and I my last comment after after Peter go ahead no please mark oh I would like to have an answer either through email which you do have somebody on the board has and and um either that or um let's see through zoom and that is this 101 whoever wants to keep up with this with me and I'll be I'll be caual and social and applying my ideas with the board so we be on the same track well Mark you know I'm always happy to meet with you so you know we can schedule a meeting and sit down and go from there but and then I can kind of translate back to the planning board um but obviously I think you know we're still working on the comp plan together and we do have a list of agenda item you know on the items that we want to talk about later tonight so I think we can keep our minds open and and hopefully move things forward progressively and I will keep my mind open for compromise and we all can be together on it all right thank you Mark thank you [Music] uh at this current time I see nobody with their hands raised for public comment you have a public comment conc a specific topic or any um so with that said I see no more public comment I think we can move forward to our first public hearing thanks Peter do you want to give us um an introduction on that uh yes so first I'm going to read the uh public hearing excuse me the Public Public hearing notes into the record so please bear with me the Ashen planning board will hear a public hearing on Thursday July 25th 2024 at 7:15 in the Ashen select board meeting room second floor Ashen Town Hall 101 Main Street Ashen Mass to the hear the ition of T-Mobile Northeast LLC 10 Commerce Way sweet B Norton Mass 0277 6 requesting a special permit modification per chapter 282 section 6.4 wireless communication facilities in 9.3 of the ashon zoning bylaws the applicant seeks to modify the existing special permit for the placement of antennas and update auxiliary equipment on the existing Tower structure in in in on the water tank uh just for everyone's clarification this is a water tank owned by the town at 24 Tower Road the equipment will be aesthetically consistent with the existing structure in nintend Array the proposed The Proposal includes the installation of 5G capable equipment the property in question is located at 24 Tower Road assessor map 20 lot 80 in residential a zoning District the public area will be held via zoom in video conference the zoom Zoom is up here um in it the confer the link was provided parties wishing to be heard on this matter should submit comments to the AC planning board ahead of time and or appear at the time place indicated above materials will be viewed at ashon toown website uh under the current cases or the uh Town Hall by appointment during no business hours for more information or do subit comments please contact myself Peter mat at 85327 n27 and provided my email address Trisha kendle chair as PL board with that said I would like to take a moment and introduce the applicant so uh this application came um and was submitted by T-Mobile Northeast LLC and tonight we have attorney Adam F brilley of Prince LEL and Tha LP representing the application um just for a kind of a round description of the project so this is a 24 Tower Road it is an abandoned t water tank and um having a cell facility goes back and or the sighting of a cell facility um goes back to 1998 I believe so in 1998 the town uh in the zoning board of appeals permitted um this location as a um a sell facility I believe at this current time there are two um carriers um that are collocated on a monopole that is um that goes up through the actual site um indoor water tank and then it has guide wires anchored to the side of the tank uh with that said I believe in 2008 within this within the application package Um T-Mobile did come in um Andor the um company at that time I know there's been a lot of mergers in the Telecommunications um world uh came in and updated this equipment so here tonight we are talking about updating the equipment on the existing uh infrastructure indor monop pole that currently kind of comes up through the abandoned water tank um at this time if appropriate I would like to hand it over to Adam brayy attorney Adam brayy and uh please take it away great thank you you got it um members of the board and thank you Peter just for the record Adam brard at Prince Lael Tai um we're in Boston Massachusetts on behalf of the applicant T-Mobile Northeast LLC um like Peter said we're here to modify or request special fir uh special per modification um to modify the existing Wireless Communications facility that's located on the um Tower structure that's on top of the tank located at 25 Tower Road here in town the applicant to Peters Point there's been telecommunications equipment on that site since 1998 I think it was either Nexel or uh AT&T that went on um at that time and then I shortly after that I think it was AT&T so it was Nexel in 98 AT&T shortly after that and then T-Mobile under the name of omnipoint communications which is now uh T-mobile went on in um 2008 so in 2008 T-Mobile executed a lease agreement with the um with the city uh with the town and then installed its equipment um and now uh T-mobile is looking to modify that equipment the modifications proposed are easiest way to do that is tell you what's existing and what we're proposing to do so what is existing is six panel antennas that are on that um Tower structure that's on the on the tank and the um we have a set of plans that are on have three uh of the of the plans on on the package um so T-Mobile has three panel uh six panel antennas two per sector that are currently on the on that Tower structure Um T-Mobile proposes to to replace those with six new uh panel antennas it T-Mobile also has three remote radio units which are small 1 by one foot um units that that um that amplify the signal in the coax down to the computers um and those are also on the tower there's three currently there two mob looking to replace those with uh six new remote radio units so um aesthetically it's going to look pretty much the same uh six panel antennas um for six panel antennas and three remote radio units for six remote radio units um T-Mobile is going to replace any um worn or abandoned which I don't think there is any abandoned uh coax cabling that is um that runs from the antennas down to the ground equipment um in on the or within the T-Mobile's least area in Fen compound area there is two currently two um cabinets for the radio equipment and T-Mobile proposes to re uh replace those with two actually smaller uh cabinets so those cabinets won't be as big as the ones that are currently there as far as there are the plans yeah as far as the the changes that's that's really the the gist of the proposed changes so you can see there if we go yep there you go that so those are existing um t-mob at the top &ts in the middle and then there's there uh nexile but it's no longer there so those are there's no there's no um carrier that's at that lowest level at this at this time so we've worked with the planning department we've worked with uh Haley Ward um we've been working with them since early 2023 in connection with the modifications here um we did get a a letter from the the Department um in I think it was January 2024 that um in our application that that basically stated that we're good to go provided we conform to the uh Haley Ward conditions which we which we are yep so just to clarify so um the applicant uh with AT&T preemptively sent this to halan Ward and did a pre uh uh a excuse me a engineering um peer review and so there is a letter behind the um letter here and the public hearing notice and it's dated May 23rd 2024 and this is from Greg Aldridge working for the town reviewing uh Helen I mean as working for for the town's peer as a town peer review Helen Ward uh they do all of our uh water department tank uh telecommunications tank review um um and I have spoken with him on the phone and the appro the approv the proposed plan satisfies his review and from a structural standpoint I I had a question and looking over your application materials tab five there's a letter from January of 2024 I believe from um Doug Small and Doug talks about this one very important item yes that's how he starts it yep uh to mention is the strength and condition of the concrete domed roof he's indicating a man lift should be used for all Communications equipment removal and installation to avoid Point loading I'm assuming all of that you're agreeing to yes okay so this is um an abandoned water structure for the town but we're like obviously structurally it's not great they're saying don't like so what what is um is there any maintenance the town will need to do and how does that affect with like the equipment because I'm presuming like we're not going to just let this crash the Tower or that kind of thing I think from that standpoint I lean on Greg ALDS I'm not a inst structional engineer you know I think they've checked it out the water department has checked it out and they feel confident that the way it as it stand and it can take this no I meant so like but if there's future maintenance how does that impact with with this and then is it temporarily baned or it's never to be used again or do we know that and how is did anyone ask those questions along the way in my eyes this is abandoned um because there's a monopole through this oh okay through the through the roof that I don't think we're it's literally through there that actual pole that pole goes from the center of the through the roof so I do not think we the town will be using this again however I'm happy to ask those questions and try to get those answers it's it's a little bit of a strange site I went up there with pet yeah it's a yeah you don't really feel like you're in Ashland kind of when you're there where where this you come of come come across this water tower which was really um I don't know I was kind of surprised I obviously I'd never been up there for any other reason so um it doesn't seem like again I'm not an engineer either but it seems like something that would be if a water tower been need probably be replaced that then reused given this condition but I'm not obviously I'm not sure right is there any other questions for the applicant right um I'll open it up for public comment good evening uh my name is Eric Jensen I live at 23 Tower Road uh right next to the proposed project um a lot of our questions have been answered uh not just tonight but uh reading through other projects or other information concerning this project uh but our main concern basically uh with me and the other neighbors there are um the impact it has of timeline how long the project will take constructionwise how much heavy equipment will be coming in where they plan on uh stationing and uh just uh keeping all this heavy equipment when it's not maybe not in use in this area um so that's basically our main concern right right now is just the overall scope of the project timeline and uh throughout not just length time but during the daytime as well what time it will take place because it is a pretty quiet End of the Street up there correct yeah are those questions that you're prepared to talk about thank you okay I can first state is that any work that would have to be done would have to be during the during the day you know we have bylaws regarding construction hours obviously and so obv they would have to amend to that regarding time and the timeline equipment how long it would take I'll obviously let yeah so oh I'm sorry no no please um through through the chair um just just to try to answer the question yes I'd appreciate that so this is a a replacement of existing equipment generally what what we would do I think in this case because because of where it's located we would use a man lift anyway we're required to in this case because of the the findings from Haley ward in the town um so we would have a a man lift that would be that would you know drive up there or come off a trailer and then drive up and do the work most of the work can be done within a couple of days um because it's just replacing the antennas with the new antennas but I would say that you know we would we would need a couple of weeks for a prep um install and then take away um so when you talk about a couple weeks do you mean um like people trucks on site say 10 for 10 days I I would think yes yeah okay um to be safe I think it can be it it could be quicker than that but um generally the modification structural uh the modification um construction installations are relatively quick I mean they don't want to be down the reason is that you don't want this the the the facility to be down for a lengthy period of time you really want to switch out the antenna so that there's really no downtime and that and that length obviously given the nature of the work that would be doing would also depend on weather and things like that that's correct right thank you yes and other than the M left is there any other equipment that would be on site yeah I don't think so I mean obviously we're going to have uh there'll be ladders um there'll be some Vans probably um that would come with the equipment um smaller Vans like the Sprinter vans um and then attractive trailer with the with the man lift I think our concern yes yes and we can I mean that's that's completely reasonable and if if you want to if we need if we need to include that as a condition I I believe that that's that's reable I think that's suitable obviously we would not during any construction project we wouldn't have them parking in the public way Andor obviously leaving or blocking anyone's driveway so I think that would be I think that's common courtesy tell you the truth absolutely so okay uh so with public comment uh there's one person with their um their hand up um so online I going to ask uh hello can you hear me guys yes and I apologize I I I I don't I cannot pronoun I'm not going to attempt to pronounce your name but please introduce yourself with your name and address yes sure thank you for letting me speak my name is Mukesh chuk and I live on uh five royal colony Circle that's uh directly opposite to like the my backyard faces the the tower um so uh I think a lot of questions have been answered so thank you for those and we do have a concern about the relative increase in the power emission from these uh Towers uh presumably 5G uh Tower replacement that suggested is uh you know results in higher uh emission of power and since we have uh we are next to it we are a little bit concerned about that uh so I would appreciate any commentary from the applicant on this and also if there's any data or any any um studies that they can provide us um to uh reduce the concerns I am representing some other folks around uh on the street as well who have raised this concern to me okay thank you um I'm going to ask the applicant to see if he wants to address that uh question yes to the chair um thank you yes please uh so in every instance when uh T-mobile and most of the carriers either install a new facility or modify an existing facility like in this case radio frequency emissions studies are performed to conform to the requirements set by the FCC um that's been done here and the um radio frequency emissions are comply and conform with those those uh safety levels so that study has been completed and um and the uh like I said the uh any radio frequency emissions do conform to the um safety levels that are U that are that are that have been mandated by the uh by the FCC I will say that uh this is a is a 5G style installation however it is somewhat constrained typical 5G installation for T-Mobile is nine panel antennas and this is only six so for example in the Cedar Street um water tank that that has nine panel antennas this would only have six so the there would be a difference in in radio frequency there and FC and just just for the the notes FCC that you mentioned stands for oh I'm thank you uh Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission yeah thank you I I just have a a couple of followup uh so um is that study that you mention that you mentioned is that done specifically for this Tower or is it more generic U that's done somewhere else the study is specific to to T-Mobile's installation at this at this location great thank you and is that uh is that a part of the packet that that you have submitted I think it was required as part of the package but we could include it as part of the building permit application it it what the applicant stated is that it's uh he it it hasn't been submitted but I think if you could submit that I'm happy to post that online and and get that out to the applicant as soon as possible is that agreeable uh yeah sure certainly we can install that uh include submit okay thank you yeah so the applicant stated in the meeting uh that he will submit that report and uh I can have that posted on the website as soon as tomorrow great thank you appreciate that and if you have any issues find I I had just a last question but that's not very important if you have press on time I I can rest no please feel free uh okay just quickly how um long is this contract for so is this like a forever lease or is there is there a time period for this just I can answer that if you please the least the current lease agreement with the uh with the town of Ashlin uh expires in 20 2028 so about another four more years so this isn't look yes this isn't looking to ex it's not about the lease agreement it's about doing something while you have the lease agreement active right and in order to uh extend that lease or renew that lease the the the town would need to uh and any of the carriers that are on the tank need to go through a procurement process which is a public process at this time there's no other questions all right are there any other questions or comments from the board okay so our typical process um to do this would be if the board is in general agreement will help have like guess is there any discussion this is a pretty typical we've seen a number of these in the past obviously and just for my only thought to show is just for the folks in the room um and on Zoom who might not have been part of the prior projects where this has come up um this is falling under the I'm going to the tri act um but this is one of those ones where we don't our hands are pretty tied in terms from the federal government in terms of what we can do that's true Peter can you give us just a the just just so it's a part of this meeting process a brief synopsis about that regulation so back in back in 2012 as part of the federal middle class tax relief and job creation act um they state that that application in that law um kind of took it the power away from Municipal governments right and regarding the updating of these facilities per se right and so really the town of Ashland and all towns not just town of Ashland has limited Authority and jurisdiction when when a telecommunications company comes in and wants to update their equipment on a already permitted site and So within this process right under the 2012 um Federal middle- class tax relief there are six points right of eligible facility and um and so with that said it says number one the modification does not increase the height of the base station by more than 10% in this case where at the same height the mo modification of the transmission equipment on the um pole or or you know does not uh produce uh from the edge of support structure no more than 6 feet so therefore we're not widening the support structure we're not making this anything different right um and that kind of goes further on um but the main takeaway is is that the FCC kind of is control here and the town is kind of in the back seat what we and and I'm going to speak for the planning board on this is that I think the planning board over the last few years we find it very important to have public hearings when telecommunications companies come into the town and we want to make sure that everybody within a certain dis you know within proximity knows what's going on right because it is in your backyard and so some communities um would have the Telecommunications Company file for for a building permit and kind of not go through this process so we as a planning board and as a town uh obviously have this process we go through it we are limited to a 60-day process right now we're on day 35 after receiving this application uh we as a town only have about 60 days to issue a final decision but our hands are tied a little bit but this is public information that's happening um and work going on within the community and so I think holding the public hearing what we are doing tonight in making sure it's a public process um that is the goal here um and to make it transparent and so um I can go further through the six points if you would like but no I think what um I just wanted to make sure since we had folks from the public here asking questions and to your point Peter I think um the reason why we handle it differently than some other municipalities is because there are a lot of questions that can be answered really easily in this open Forum by the applicant and and have everyone sort of on the same page but to your point if unless something is um Falls outside of those six points we really can't do anything other than than approve it correct so because everything sort of within that it is a little bit of a proforma exercise true I I will add that for me it's been although the board is limited in whether we can deny it or not there's certain limitations I think these types of hearings for me have been very insightful because I listen to the public comment and I myself become more educated as to what the public is concerned about um and although by federal law we have some limitations and certainly there's not a lot we can do as a board I do believe that there are certain points that the public needs to understand and one of those is that and Peter you can correct me if I'm wrong that this is technically public property that's being leased am I corre am I right oh 100% y this public property in theory the public has full access to that site I can go there right now and take measurements for radioactive or excuse me for radio frequencies and I on my own could as a public citizen do my own research as a resident as to whether I believe those are dangerous levels for me so those are some of the things I sometimes wonder about we as a board have no jurisdiction here to order anybody to do do that kind of testing but when the public comes to us and expresses those types of concerns we have a lot of very educated scientific people in this community and I think that it's important to remember this is a public site that any member of the public is welcome to do testing at and because it's a tower the way this works my understanding is that safety is also dependent upon where your private property is located relative to this public space so if people are concerned they have every right as public citizens to go and pesti site I hope that's helpful relative to the comment online about safety are there any other comments from the board okay um I think then and uh our typical process um would be to um have Peter start with um to put together the um the approval document for this and obviously there are a few conditions that will come in come into that and then we will look at that next time um we need to be a little careful of that window because at our next meeting I'm not going to be present and that only leaves two people of a quorum for this particular public hearing so either people right will need to review the tape well it's a special per so Amanda could sit oh Amanda could sit on the special oh okay she's not hear so we're a little bit in this so doing the doing the math right um the next meeting August 8th would be 48 days um and so we' be we would still be in the time frame of of acceptability I would say um I did not look to the I think the next meeting would be 14 days after so I think we would cross over that 60-day time period but um if acceptable to the applicant and we can put this in writing uh we can move this to August 22nd and 2th isn't it 25th 25th 25th isn't it the 25th or August no 22nd sorry oh okay it's I don't know why I had the 25th in my head okay maybe that's why um and at that point we could have a full we would not have to M we would have to go through the M off of Davids or anything like that yeah um I think that's just remind me of the process the hearing doesn't the hearing closed close the public hearing process we tend to leave the we tend to leave the um the public hearing open until until we can look at the um until we can look at the the doc approval document in case there's other information that comes into it in case we have more questions to ask um because otherwise we're we're very limited in what who we can ask question questions of until that time yeah at this point we usually will we will close it and then vote on it with an approval document and if and if we have to continue it out to the 22nd of August I can assure that we can have a draft decision you know complete um at a very least by August 8th for everyone to start reviewing and obviously I would share a copy with you um in the meantime yes so we can include I mean the four of us can be on the special permit process but two of us four will not be here on the 8th so I think it'd be best if we can continue it out to the end of August to the 22nd so that we can make sure and usually we go at least a day after that because we need to collect signatures and stuff like that yeah so we'll we'll I'll follow up in the email so we'll just continue out till August 23rd which is a Friday and uh as long as we there's no kind of hiccups or and we'll kind of go from there I could zoom in on the just for this it helped but yeah I can't even zoom in that day so um yeah so I think summer schedules were a part of your uh your earlier scheduling as well okay if you can take care of that yeah we'll follow with with emails but I think tonight we just need a motion continue it to the 22nd and um and we'll follow up verbal we know I think we got the okay verbally but we'll follow up and I'll file that with the town clerk tomorrow right is there such a motion I'll make a motion to continue the public hearing for 24 Tower Road with T-Mobile pending approval of extension of the deadline I'll second up and a roll call vote Anna teski I cath Jers I Amanda I and Trisha Kendall I so we will see you on the 22nd when it'll be very close to back to school SE thank you all right so um next on our agenda we knew our public hearing agenda was going to be quite light light tonight so um the planning board uh put together a list of topics that were just generally compiled um of um I I compiled a memorandum I should say um regarding different suggestions people made about um possible topics for the planning board it's quite a a long list but it shows the diversity of things that we that we um work on and um I'm sure Amanda will be back in a sec but um Anna you had had an idea about how we I mean we have time in this meeting but we don't have all I'm sure we don't want to stay here all night so how do we you had some ideas about how we can approach kind of a long complex list and and get something out of our evening yeah I mean I I guess what I'm seeing here is three different categories of things um I think it seems like the the guest speaker piece and the processes piece is a little bit more simple than the stuff on top the bylaw work I think is what is challenging to us because of the amount of work that's involved how to go about it Etc so I guess my suggestion for Trish to Trisha was do we want to talk about the bylaw stuff and sort of figure out from each one of us what two or three things really stand out as a priority priority for us and come up with some sort of plan obviously we're not going to solve these problems in one retreat but I had suggested a prioritization for each person and sort of some consensus as to what do we as a board want to f focus our attention at and come up with a timeline of some kind as to how we go about that that was essentially the suggestion and then in theory you could have a go-to person who sort of becomes responsible for owning that priority for a period of time and that person can sort of in theory lead the work gather certain basic information maybe even work with Mark to do some research present it back to the board for further Retreat further discussions um that was generally my suggestion Yeah so basically the the middle topic like like you said joint meetings guest speakers were not usually ones to say no we don't want to talk to you or we don't want a joint meeting usually those are always informative for our board and these are just things that have come up um not even just with this call for requests but things that we've talked about before that haven't quite made it on our agenda so and there might be more as that that we might add to this list that we want to bring in throughout the year but it's not something that necessarily needs to discussed right I mean we could certainly discuss it but I'm thinking like if we have an hour to do this retreat part of our agenda maybe we agree that you know 40 minutes goes to bylaw conversation and prioritization and a plan and 20 minutes can go to discussing the other two topics that seem a lot less controversial and more sort of hey what are we thinking um so I don't know how you want to go about it but I feel like we should pick a time frame stick to it try to get through the agenda and figure out plan of attack for the bylaw work I I think if any unless anyone has a different opinion I think that that guest speaker joint meeting thing can really be like it's just for us to keep track of feel free to add to it you know we'll keep an ongoing list of those things but there's probably not a big discussion to have there b you know about discussion would be who to invite first but I'm not sure that's a critical discussion at this stage so but between um the bylaw work and um Kate I think a lot of I think you had a lot of comments about processes and procedures so how does that how does Anna's suggestion fit with maybe your concerns about that category I I mean I agree I think they're kind of simple I think they should be talked about to see how much agreement and and a path forward but they're kind of simple ultimately okay so Amanda any no I think that makes sense to start with by law work um maybe give ourselves like we want to be wrapping that by 845 so that we can move on to the other things I feel like that makes so I justes have to be 45 second yeah no Mak sense you mean moving on to the Joint to the guest speaking and the other stuff exactly yeah okay mosy through those yeah as faster things at the end yeah all right so sounds good so why don't we um I don't think things don't need to be necessarily taken in any particular order they weren't put in any particular order by me so um feel free to take them out of order wherever you want to start um I'd just like to comment on the the tree um preservation bylaw because I said I would contact the sustainability committee and kind of their thoughts so the best I could get was that they've sort of they haven't really met and it's been um you know travel and then summer plans so I I would assume it's not off their plate but I could not get any confirmation on that at this time are we thinking that we just want to sort of talk through our priorities and what we each think makes most sense among yeah I think so I think it's just anything we want to have out there like where do we start with this thing how strongly do we feel about it um who's really interested in it um for me I feel pretty strongly about the ones that we already have pretty substantial progress towards like we've invested a lot of time in the tree bylaw and tree preservation between standing you know you know they sitting meeting where it's just that or having sustainability here on multiple occasions um I feel like it makes sense to sort of try to wrap up the ones that we've made that we've already invested a lot of time in and for me that would be the tree bylaw and um MBTA communities to just like focus on those two yeah the the MBTA communities just so you know that there are some other um information that was given it was really just more about the the updates it wasn't to be necessarily to be discussing MBTA but um there's a calendar there and there's some um um there's a map here which it it's actually a a slightly earlier draft than um there's a few Corrections that need to be made on it so I'll say that ahead of time but um I was intending to talk about that during the updates versus yeah that makes sense and and it's more something that it's kind of like that one's going to happen it's an official thing yeah it's already official thing and it's already yeah it's already going to happen um the the tree B if obviously we need sustainability um on that I just wonder if we sort of pencil it in for an early September meeting with them I sort of it would like knock out one of our joint meeting they Al I don't know that they're on here but um I know that they didn't want to go for it in the spring but like sort of if they end up wanting to go for it in the fall to be able to have it on there in September to have a conversation and try and tie up L ens from the last where we left everything the spring did did you did Kate did you say you actually talked to someone about this or there um there's um no I we're kind of where we were before um I sent an email I didn't hear and then I did make a phone call to say what what's up and they really haven't actually met um I think more schedules so no body can really comment right as a board I'm not surprised because I think a lot of boards like us have quieter Summers and people are a vacation so maybe Kate if you're comfortable following up with them and I feel like that might be helpful to figure out what their interest is before we go on with it that's true yeah because I think it was because the notes the minutes are even in here right of the and it was actually a pretty complex discussion they were taking things back for sure yeah and so so um like the at least the first W meeting in September is right after summer I I just wonder if they'll be on top of things and it seems yeah it'll seem to be we'll relying on them to say is this do you want to talk about this again is it ready to talk about even do you want to with the sustainability committee even do you want to have another working rehash meeting something like that you know to doesn't have to have all the answers meeting um but maybe it's reaching out to the sustainability committee and see say it has it's not off our radar we'd be happy to do something in the fall if you guys are making progress haven't met yet but who knows August FRS or September right right to to meet and and see where it is okay I guess I'll I'll jump in to kind of my reaction to the bolaw list um in my in my brain because I'm very linear I sort of separated it from things we're required to do versus optional things so the MBTA zoning thing it's not even a question we have to do it by State law so to me that's not even like anything we should be discussing it is a priority because we're required to make it such period um the other things you know one thing I'll say is so far on the comprehensive plan work and K you can correct me if you disagree um a lot of the discussions whether it's the public or the the committee has been consistent with some of these things whether it's tree preservation or accessory dwelling units there's definitely prioritization in the community on ashin being very green very tree likee and focus on alternative affordable housing and adus are a very acceptable form of such in the state of Massachusetts so obviously we have a bylaw already in idus but it's got some limitations and we don't have really a dedic ated resource mechanism to make that a successful thing in Ashland but it's very clear to me based on how the comprehensive plan work is going so far that the things we have listed here are not contrary to what I'm hearing the public is interested in so my kind of General opinion is that we as a planning board because zoning is within our purview have a responsibility to congruent to the comprehensive plan process to take those public comments and priorities and start to actually do the work so that by the time um we are prepared and engage with the public we as a board are more prepared so I don't really look at the comprehensive plan process as required step prior to us doing our work I look at it as a congruent step that if I as a planning board member am hearing those are priorities for our community I believe I can bring that back to this board and say hey we should do something about this um so that's kind of a a general comment and then as far as sort of where I'm willing to put my head to um obviously the tree preservation common I agree with with Amanda I think that we should engage with them um the accessory dwelling unit thing really interests me I know that Trisha I believe had prior work on that topic I don't know where that is I guess the the two topics that are most of interest to me are the Airbnb short-term rental and the uh rezoning downtown to allow some limited smaller hotels um those are things that I'm especially interested in because I believe that 10 years from now ashin is going to be um more competitive um Statewide and the hospitality industry and the economy seems to be shifting towards those types of uh downtown revitalization type of ideas so that we should start thinking that way not because we're going to you know become the next hot ticket item to travel to we're not the cap but you'd be surprised how many communities are not prepared for the Airbnb short-term rental issue um Kate and I went to the planning um event that happens in Worcester every year and this is being discussed as something that many communities are not prepared for and when it happens they don't have zoning ready um in those communities that are thinking ahead tend to um do better and there is revenue to be captured in that there are communities that are lawfully taxing these types of properties and so we should be exploring that and thinking about it before we miss that opportunity um and it tends to get hotter the hotter the real estate market is and so these things are interrelated and we should be ahead of it so that we don't get the public is not frustrated that we didn't think of it um so I guess for me those two things are I have a special interest in the Airbnb short-term rental thing and the downtown hotel zoning um and I'm willing to do some you know preliminary research on those and bring it back to the board for further conversation but I'm also happy to help with the Adu and tree preservation thing if that has Focus for others on this board um just a just a clarification that on the accessory dwelling units I haven't actually done any preliminary research on that I'm just kind of familiar with it because I have done an Adu in Ashland and so I know that process as well as looking at them in other communities as well so as a part of my job uh part of my day job um so um but I I agree that both um the Airbnb and the accessory dwelling units um you know they also have a lot to do with housing and our housing production plan and and things like that you know because airbnbs aren't housing right they're not they're not permanent housing for people so it's it's important to take that in to look at it closely like you said and have regulations about it so um and we do have um accessory dwelling units as part of the housing production plan obviously which was approved as well so and and Kate had brought it up a while back about looking at that more closely and I think I I think it's a good idea I think a lot of communities are looking at it closely because of the shortage of housing because of the good thing it can Pro good things it can provide and how do we do it if we're going to make modifications and what we have now how do we do it right how do we learn from other communities and and do it as well as we can um the other thing I I think I mentioned before is um that I'm kind of particularly interested in and it's it's actually maybe more of a drab subject is the general review of the bylaws that's one of the things that in signing up for a second term um on the planning board is something I just thought I've gotten so deep into the planning board bylaws in the past few years that it's something I feel like I can use that experience for to maybe straighten some of this stuff out um while I'm on the board um so um it's it's a little dry because I don't think it's about big overwhelming changes but about little things but it is something that has been on my kind of personal to-do list I think when I when I start to look at the bylaws and see those kind of kind of frustrations in there um so um I would I guess be leaning toward that one for myself is um but also be willing to contribute to the adus because I do have professional experience and in working with those I think that's the general review is I feel like it would be such a such a missed opportunity if you've already sort of identified those things and feel like you've gotten like so experienced in them in the past it's almost like the other areas where we've done leg work it would be a waste to not yeah and I'm not saying I'm not saying I have a memorize but I'm I'm saying that there's I just keep coming across the same things and I'm like I'm frustrated that it's not clearer or it seems in just like it says here something's in Conflict something repeat Heats and we it just needs a and like why lose that institutional knowledge when we have it teed up like that's that feels like an no-brainer so Anna has kind of called out things that she's interested in I know everyone is schedule is tight but is and I don't think and I don't think necessarily there has to be things that hey I feel passionate about this so I will tackle it but is there any and and we have two of our members who aren't even here but um do you guys lean a certain way like if you were going to pick something from the list um I'll just give my kind of two cents rundown as well that um so I a little bit disagree with Anna about the MBTA communities act obviously we do have to do it but this is really critical to be in the public so I think when we oh absolutely no no no it's number one because it has to be done we have no choice is what I mean yeah but it making sure that it gets the proper attention right um so I think the um accessory dwelling units I mean me personally I I wouldn't want to put I would support the board but put effort unless it would be flipping to a buy right which we all probably know is how the state's considering anyway they might get to it before us but I I think that shows good willll that we're hearing about housing and it's it's actually I consider it low hanging fruit I know it's work to get it right but that that would show you're saying it's a no-brainer a win a progress we're paying attention we right that um I think that the Airbnb short-term rentals there again there's communities that we learned like they way ahead of this and it would be very smart of Ashlin to be ahead of this before it's a problem so I think it's in keeping with that um the downtown hotels I think is going to take some convincing of the public of why that's coming up maybe not a lot but um and the general review for it this could be ongoing but I feel like that's literally one of the reasons I was on the board to set the Precedence of having people like Mark and more people pay attention right in and said this is a conflict and helping um even I think more than Trish like one that I think really should be looked at is we learned um over the discussion can we asked for more than 10% affordable so we're out of the pit that if it's five stories we can't and that seems silly to not lower it since we we haven't heard the public clamoring for five or more story buildings in Ashland residential so that seems in that cleanup if you're lowering at four stories at least we by that research which again economics changes all the time but the last report was 12 a half which is still better than 10 it makes again a statement the board is paying attention the community is paying attention so I think the the cleanup should probably be ongoing through all our terms forever but like that's not exactly a cleanup in the same way you were thinking but no so I think that and I think that's but it's interesting that there's there's different there's different ways of focus on that cleanup yes right and and and that's okay because there's plenty of work to do to spread out right so it's okay if someone's focusing on one thing and someone's focusing on another thing based on you know interests or you know passion about something so well so I think I think it is sort of the whole board but these what I'd want to do if I'm like just because doing on comprehensive plan two which also takes a lot of time is some reasonable schedule we think these could be looked at I don't think I'm not saying it's instantaneous but I think that's helpful to the public like here's our actual work plan published on the website what and our potential timeline of bringing these to people draas things so I guess I'm struggling with two things one is there's like for me something like uh like what you mentioned hey there's a zoning bylaw where one little sentence just makes zero sense and we could literally just like do that in 10 minutes and make it make more sense that to me is so easy I don't know if we need a work plan it's almost like if we can agree as a board that there's room for that type of thing and we can make it a regular agenda item for us and actually use it where if we see something I'm sorry I'm just going to say it something stupid in the zoning bylaw that just can be change quickly let's start drafting those as we go in a regular way I don't think we need a work plan we just need to agree that that's what we want to do as a board and put it on our agenda in a regular way the more complicated stuff like hey rezoning downtown for hotels guess what I will I will have to do some research bring to you as the board the things I already read about the hospitality industry growing in Massachusetts it's one of the fastest growth industries what that might look like for for for us maybe I'll reach out to Framingham State and try to kind of gather up some basic economic research on it present it to you do some research that's far more complex it's not like something we can just like throw together that might require a work plan and I guess if there's someone who's passionate about it I can propose something to trishia hey I'll give you research by such and such date I'll give you a memo by such and such date maybe she'll we'll put it on the agenda by such and such date for another conversation and then if there's consensus on the board I could sort of Go off into work mode you know and reach out to I don't know other committees that might be interested start looking at a potential draft bring it back Etc so that's where I'm struggling like figuring out you know work plan for what right like what does that so I I can just say I think we our board does not always get um the public or the public understanding like for instance I'm just going to say people have told us a case was in front of us for three years which isn't true and so I feel like it's just goes with that public like we are going to start working on these and so that if you don't come to town me you're like what where did this come from like I want to avoid right so I guess that's what I'm talking about a published work that people could I don't know how many people click on the website but at least it's there and so we're we're looking at these are the five things we're looking at and the general cleanup could be that I guess that's sort of where that's coming from from from me that's helpful yeah I think it's for me it's about like list listing um you know goals for this this year which isn't a calendar year but like September to September you know let's say um and not necessarily about we're going to do this first and then that second and this because I just can't guarantee that with my schedule and I from it seems what most people of our schedules probably know one can can pinpoint their schedule that way so to me it's about bigger goals and things we hope to achieve and you know like I said what are we focusing on um so so it sounds like so far based on our conversations we're all in agreement that MBTA communities Act is a priority for this calendar year September to September year there's no choice right because we have no choice I'm also hearing the tree preservation um and the general conflicts inside the zoning like the obvious stuff the low hanging fruit as you put it um seems like we could put them on the top of our priority Focus like we want the tree preservation stuff not to fall off effort and it's sounds like we are interested in like if we see something silly in the zoning by law we want it we want to give it a shot to kind of work together and then everything else I think is really up to whether we have time and passion so to speak to do it and if we kind of throw it on the list as these are our interests we're going to see how we do as a board as long as we agree that we're willing to be open-minded and hear from whomever is passionate about it like it would be waste of my effort to go and do the research and not have the opportunity to present it to the board so if we all agree we're interested I I'm more than happy to do some leg work and present memos to the board but I think we need some consensus that yes these are the things that we want to look at well and I think that's kind of my point why I'm calling it a work plan because I don't want to I've already done a fair bit on Adu and I've contacted other like state agencies and got references but like if it's not going to go anywhere I I I do not want to do any more work I don't agree because we have a lot to do already on the comprehensive plan so for me it's like you're looking for that formality I guess that's what I'm I'm looking for a consensus that this is really something we as a board want to explore it doesn't mean we're going to do it right like we're not actually going to finish it maybe maybe Anna does a bunch of research gives it to the board and the board is like oh this is not really our thing but there has to be some agreement that we're going to we care enough to allow us as a board to explore these things yeah I mean I think with the hotels and the Airbnb it's definitely not something that I would have thought of just like yeah Ashlin it's not it's not Cape Cod you know so is this really a thing for us yeah but you're saying no I think it might be I think it might be coming you know and so I think that's valid and I'd be very interested in what you what you find about it just because I it didn't float to the top of what I was thinking I'd be very interested to hear about it because it's it's kind of forward thinking it's curious something like the Adu I think is it is right now it's happening and so it should be like it should be it should be low hanging fruit it's already in our housing production plan I think to have it by right it's already there as a goal it's not like it's new so let's just pursue it in the right way and and see if we can come up with the thing that works for ashin to me it's a no-brainer as well right it just takes putting the pieces together and uh maybe maybe this fall we'll have time to do that so I I agree with that and I think for me a little bit of my um I had a little bit a different take of the role of the comprehensive plan with things like the Airbnb and the Zoning for downtown hotels where like I I I sort of air on like a little bit more of the side of the approach we've taken with MBTA communities of like wanting to see the results of the comp plan so that we're not sort of trip you tripping over each other sounds negative but like duplicating work or sort of like getting putting a cart before a horse with with that part so for me some of like the bigger theoretical things feel to your point in about like not wanting to go off and do a bunch of work on it and then like have it stall out I think that's a completely Fair concern I'm also interested to learn more about them I think I'm in York Camp Trisha I think I wouldn't want to push something like super fast through to conclusion or through to a bylaw on either of those topics until the comp plan was coming together a little bit better and we could see how they interact personally um but I do but I am like intrigued to learn more about them so that's sort of where I am on on those two and everything else feels like something that's like right now teed up already sort of either in existence and We Know It needs help like adus or tree preservation which is you know we we thought it was going to go to Springtown meeting so like sort of very um formulated in a way I mean it's not but it is if that makes sense as a priority formulated I guess so just to for clarification like the comprehensive plan process is setting priorities for the community and recommendations for the kind of zoning that might be addressed the problem with something like airb BS is it's not like the community can say that's a priority like it's just happening it has nothing to do with a priority of the community so it's a little bit different from comprehensive planning because it's just there like if you go to Airbnb I did just now out of curiosity and you put an Ashlin in random dates you will see all the airbnbs in the region many of them are Apartments we're building more Apartments it's not like something we can prioritize in a comprehensive plan it's like if the comprehensive plan allows for apartments and growth then this keeps happening it's not like we have a way to it's not like we have to wait for the comprehensive plan to be done to know it's already happening is what I'm trying to say that different in that sense it's kind of yeah I guess they're the two like um least developed of the ID just because dealt I them for that reason but I think you're right that airbnbs is like a problem that exists and to your point like communities get stuck um when it becomes a problem and that's sort of a more a proactive thing and not as much of a planning thing I think the hotel thing is a little bit more of a plan thing absolutely so I I should have separated them in that sense but um I I was kind of lumping them again because they were sort of the the ones that we've made the least that we've delved into the lease so far as a board and the hotel thing is coming up in the comprehensive PR process um and I think we're going to hear more about it from the experts the consultant team Etc I think one of the questions I had asked the Consulting team in the last meeting we had with the select board was that issue and they the person who spoke said he would do more research on it so like again it's a congruent issue where as the comprehensive plan process explores downtown and potential resoning I would love to help the board get more educated on it so that we have have an actual educated voice we may say as a community no we don't want hotels downtown right but we as a board need to kind of understand what's happening it Statewide um sometimes I look if it's okay I'll just share this sometimes I Look to what other communities are doing and interesting things right and um whether it's planning or zoning or whatever and these are some of the things they're thinking about so it's kind of trying to get get us to catch up if you will to other vibrant communities that are similarly situated I you know I would think that and just to kind of think about what a result of this is tonight is that the the first four things on there the tree preservation adus airbnbs and the and the hotels to me those are the four that get um like maybe on our web page or you know that that we write a few sentences about each one of those um you know if we have if we have planning board goals you know the board would like to work on pursuing a tree preservation bylaw working with the sustainability committee this bylaw is intended to help preserve trees in our community you know just a few things like what is it about right um just a few sentences so for something that so the community the public can actually understand what we're doing MBTA I think it it has its own page already right and uh it's just not it's not a year-long goal for the planning board it's it's happening um and and and the general review is also just like there's not much to say there like yeah we should clean up our bylaws a bit right it's not really a not that that exercise isn't meant to change the bylaws it that's that's some they do have to go through town meeting I'm not saying that but it's meant just to clean just to clean it up not to change the intent and that to me is different than the first four which is really about a planning issue versus a cleanup issue right um so at least in in now some of the things Kate suggested maybe are different and those aren't the things I'm talking about I'm talking about the basic cleanup so that might separate into a separate category that would make it into a a fifth goal so just to be clear about that I wasn't meaning to undermine what you had said um so does that make does that make sense yeah I think that is logical to kind of announce to the public these are the things we're thinking about this is how we're separating these items and contemplating them I guess my only other thought is like when we do meetings when we get busy again you know sometimes I feel like we bring the bylaws with us at least we've seen us do that we but we're like so in the mode of the project we're just like applicant speaks yeah public comment we are speaking we don't really take a breath to be like what is the zone zoning part that applies is it clean does it make sense to us and I wonder if we should make an effort to do that more and maybe start taking notes of okay this is the zoning that applies here's some sections in here that we find could use some cleaning and we put them aside and we become more active in that kind of awareness as we go been doing that yeah I mean that's exactly what I'm talking about because when we get a project in I am reading through the the all the Wildwood bylaw right and I'm like oh boy you know this is this is a little convoluted here you know and no wonder we get to and then right I guess what I'm suggesting is a formal almost like micro Retreat every time we have a project that focuses us on the bylaw like even 20 minutes of what is the bylaw that applies to these projects and what's dirty in them that we want to clean up and then we move on to the project like ground ourselves in this work if we say it's a priority for us to clean up the zoning the only way it's ever going to work is if we actually have it on the agenda item as a grounding exercise and and it's public and it's there and it's happening in a regular way and we're tracking it and we're making notes and then in some ways that benefits the projects that are right after yes so it can be done in a in an organized way ongoing I would say like two things one is that when this year we have new projects come in I would say the meeting before if possible we have that if we get something in the wild District the meeting before the the public hearing is introduced we have that little mini session yeah but in the meantime I'm going to be looking I don't know I don't know what order but I'm going to be looking at them anyway like I'm not waiting all do our job yeah we should all do our job which is like we should know what zoning piece applies and we should be reviewing it we should become prepared for sure I'm not saying like that stops no no I'm saying that before we get a project in another project in I might be looking at it anyway for those kind of inist for this kind at the same time you're looking at hotels and air them in your mind they're driving me they're driving me a little crazy already no reason Trish has an OCD project yeah do keep that list I see that's very important let's get that done so it is a little yeah that's way too stressful to [Laughter] have um no no in all seriousness I get it like I I do think that there's been consistent things that you Trisha and you um have said both of you Kate and Trisha so I feel like you guys are really well equipped to try to clean it up for some reason because I think you're very detail oriented that way um I'm just trying to suggest a way to do it as a board that benefits the actual projects as well because like sometimes I feel like I guess I'm kind of going off into the best practices piece of our agenda where I feel like we struggle sometimes as a board when we get busy we're like in this sort of energetic mode of hearing the project without the context of the bylaw and I think that's that's a missed opportunity there yeah no I agree I think that's um yeah because we've been trying to be more consistent about saying okay this is a special permit this is a site plan review they're different and to pay more attention to that but it would also be um and I and I think we've definitely looked at these things earlier here are the criteria for Wildwood this is what we have to pay attention to that's different than downtown yeah we have to pay attention to what's in the bylaw for Wildwood right kind of thing so um I think we've been getting better at it but as new projects come in we should have a discussion when when Peter alerts us that something's on the horizon we should start looking at that particular by set of bylaws yeah um exactly you know and maybe some of them have will have been changed along the way you know and and probably not because it's going to take a while to to get through that but to give ourselves a to know where all those little inconsistencies are or you know things are unclear things to pay attention to and sometimes in the context of a project because you're using it as an example to apply the B law the inconsistencies are more obvious like if I just read a bylaw right now with zero project in front of me I'll find something wrong with it but a live project is what makes it alive like oh wait how does this apply to an actual real thing um well this is why we've had Pawn Street projects we've had Wildwood we've had downtown and so when we look at these now we're like oh yeah I remember we had a little issue with that particular point and why why why did we have an issue what what's not clear about it so all right sounds like we have a plan to at least draft up a little summary of the bylaws and publish it as some kind of loose concept for the public ke are there things that you can pull out of my take on the general bylaws which I don't which is different than what you're saying is there something you can pull out to be with the other four instead of mine which I think is about housekeeping think housing well I think that five story thing when I heard and asked like that seemed like a no-brainer to lower that um it's also all over the comprehensive plan like we're getting pretty far we it's a draft vision and they said it can change but like housing affordability housing for all types is there and there's definitely um like the pre-existing non-conforming the way our bylaw is now basically can obliterate those houses potentially so if that that's a change though that is that is not a cleanup that is a change to the bylaw but it is under the guise of preserving housing yeah and those are the things we don't see a lot because they go to zba instead of planning board maybe that might be true yeah no pre-exist Section 3 is preexist all pre-existing nonconformities regarding special permits and vares go through the zoning board of appeals so but I guess I mean I know that our housing stock will be in danger if that's not yeah definitely not definitely not to say I I'm not used to looking at those in Ashland but I am used to looking at those in other communities so I mean those are the two off the top of my head and related to that would probably be I think the definitions I would put them under the cleanup but but to your point they are not simple cleanup they are somewhat changing potentially there's a little of both in them definitions I would definitely put in that category yeah but some of them need clean up to like make it clear but it would alter so yes you have to be care it overlaps both yes that's true but those would be my top three is the definitions the five storage pre-existing non-conforming I I do want to add one thing from I from what I remember for the comprehensive plan our agreement with the consultant does not include actual drafting of bylaws is that right Peter no they will yeah they're not going to be drafting anything for us recommendation right he Dred a comprehensive plan yeah no no no no no I mean I mean for zoning no obviously they're going to draft the comprehensive plan but they're not drafting the zoning B no they're not going to be drafting that's really important for us to understand it's going to be that's not on them that's on us we're the ones next St it's it's that technically then you do an implementation committee some communities that tends to fall apart historically many communities but the whole point is like we are the zoning jurisdictional entity we're the ones who are supposed to do this work so it's just something to remember because I feel like sometimes we forget that the comprehensive plan is not going to be ooh here's the plan and a package of bylaws choose one it's on us to clean it up yeah it's kind of like the housing production plan except the you know it made suggestions about adus it made suggestions about yeah inclusionary zoning but they didn't they're not going to write those bylaws for us and I think it's like that except the comprehensive plan is obviously comprehensive it's not just about housing so we hit the 845 Mar we did yeah I think we hit it yeah pretty well actually okay do you want to move on to the guest speakers piece again I'm not sure I mean I'll take anybody's comments but I'm not sure what's in there besides saying Yep this is a good list and probably be adding to it yeah the only thing I'll add to it I think we do want to maybe chat with the zba at some point oh uh we may or may not not obviously the relative to the 40 BS they're going to hear that's up to them if they want to talk to us about the 40b projects but in general I think having a chat with the zba about our role versus their role the intersections of our roles and frankly our interests in these topics of bylaws while it's kind of our thing to plan and reone this way they're really helpful in my opinion to hearing their thoughts on adus and airbnbs and all this stuff even if they're not going to have jurisdiction power there it may touch upon their jurisdiction so I feel like we should get together remind ourselves what do they do what do we do what are their interests what are ours and how could those things intersect like I would love to hear their thoughts on this list well it's actually it's interesting point because in the same way that we wouldn't go doing a tree bylaw without talking to the sustainability committee existing non-conforming we we have to talk to the zba because they're the ones who are in the conflict about okay this is this is us trying to follow the bylaw this is why we have a hard time y this is what's tricky for us you know yep you know they're going to have that Insider knowledge because that's what they do all the time so so that would be just kind of like my addition to that list um the other addition I would have and this is I don't know what you guys think about it but I do feel like a lot of what we do touches upon issues of economic policy and we're not economists and there are State economists there are the state has resources like that there are academics in this area who are economists I for one would love the opportunity to bring an economist to our board to talk about the region to talk about Ashland to gain some perspective on how our work works because we're oftentimes confronted by the public of you're the way you're doing business is going to destroy my business or the literally the way you're making decisions is going to be bad for my company or you know Property Owners feeling concerned about impact on property values because of certain projects and I feel like we pretend to be economists and we're not but we're being asked to make decisions in a way that touches upon policy and economics so I for one would like to build a relationship with someone regionally who can come to us with some expertise from time to time and educate us about the region and actual Economic Policy so that we're educated when the public says whatever the public says and we're not just kind of pulling things out of thin air um Beth Reynolds might have a name for us sort a couple names that we could look into I mean she has her really her finger on that kind of yeah just a fall um last week we had I had a meeting with Merc the Metro West um research C economic research center uh just wanted to state that you know since deep wasn't here and she asked me last time uh but uh we're we had a followup meeting on a on a um on economic tool right that we were looking at but obviously they have a very dense knowledge of research in the area and I'm starting to build a relationship with them so I think I could reach out to them you know and and maybe it's not on policy per se right or how does this decision uh impact um a business owner but at least I think they have the very they'd be very capable of painting a portrait of um Metro West yeah in the region of Metro right yeah and you know I know they they put out and I I I think I have a copy and I'm happy to send it to everybody but they're 2024 uh annual report of the Metro West uh economic data right and I can definitely send that out to you yeah I think that and if that's what you're looking for I think I think that's a great start I think had a GU yeah if we had a guest who could basically give us the annual report on the economics of the region how that impacts Ashlin what we as a planning board should be aware of maybe comment on some of the work that we do and how that impacts those trends that would be a great start for sure yeah I I think we can invite them in and see if they can kind of assuming it's free obviously well there's not too much in life that's free Anna uh but like the point is let's explore that yeah I think they say no at the very least I can I can obviously send out the report obviously the Merc report we can all go home and read it and kind of take a take a look at it you know I think that's definitely be in the capacity um and and try to have that relationship as we continue to build right and I I talked to him last week like I said about the economic uh Impact Tool and the development of that tool U and not just for as I I kind of you know kind of said that not not all towns have an economic impact tool right and so you know if mer had the ability to develop a tool that could be updated annually and and and granted in or sent out to you know communities or subscribing communities within the region that'd be something obviously of of Interest right and I think they' be interest of this board but for the town and also bunny towns but I think we can start there on that kind of bullet point yeah we have the resource we might as well yeah use it and they're local they have the Rams right Mark that's right that's right State when I look at this list I kind of have the same thought as I had about the bylaw work which is to take some of the things that have been like top of mind and see if we can get close them close them or have folks in you know when things get when everyone's sort of back in the groove in the fall but for me that would be the Ashton cultural Council because I just I don't want to lose I know there was a lot of behind the scenes sort of commentary on Starbucks I it's I feel like the recency of it people seem to love the idea of it right which is great and if we can keep including it but I think we hit these points in the projects Where It's Tricky and I don't know that we want to lose the um the like immediacy around what the issues were as we implemented the first one I think it would be useful to sort of tie up any Loose Ends around that or get any feedback on that when we're so close to it yeah it would be really good to maybe talk to the cultural Council like okay we put this thing in in our approval tell us how it went from your end how was your life what did you do where were the problems where can we help it be better or maybe it's out of our hands I don't know but to have the conversation not just to say oh well that worked good let's do it again yeah right board we're inclined to want to do those if they're in a way that's feasible right I think we've hit questions in sub projects as sort of concerns with the Starbucks miror were bubbling up that you know should we just like can we put it in should we put it in at all should we say anything about it how do we say it um so I would just love to get like out in the air like pros cons what went well what worked what didn't like it's so we can sort of know going forward and I feel like the closer we are to that the better and that so that would be a priority for me for the fall and the other one would be the historical commission um I think the forming of the historic district like in light of what we encounter with like the downtown 40b um even with like the the Clover Road Project where we wanted that signage like stuff that keeps bubbling up like this the idea of the district the idea of consistent sort of signs or markings like things that we that we value or that we want to bring to projects I feel like would be great to touch B with them on and get yeah it would be that hey we have these ideas are are you working on any kind of signage like this because we would love to be able to have that yeah to be able to say hey the historic commission wants to do this it's required for the project you know versus us saying right we order the historic commission to do this which we can't do right to have it already in process I wanted to make one comment about the um the cultural counsel because I mentioned a letter at a previous meeting that I received from the cultural Council and I realized it didn't I found the letter it didn't go to me as the pl at the planning board it went to me as the CPC so it was a letter from cultural Council to the CPC and that's why I got this letter when it was really about um um you know funding these are type of projects we do this is type of funding sometimes we're looking for you know type of thing so I wanted to I I didn't remember the time where I got the letter but but that's why the I received and the board did not so and then I would obviously I would personally be prioritizing the select board but that's in process so for it's going on the calendar yes and I I think that is people should put their I think they're saving their rooms for September 23rd it's a Monday it seemed to be a day I'm sure it'll in the end someone won't make it because that's just how things go but it seemed like that would be the day and it took that long to it took two months to find a day where hopefully all of us could be there so um they are looking I should also mention they are also looking at that day and it kind of comes back to the MB this this timeline for MBA communities that maybe that meeting would be twofold half of it would be about get to know you and half of it would be about the joint meeting for the MBTA communities given how hard it is to get us both in one room because it's around the same time frame so that's a tough one yeah it's not really what I was a tough combination of things I was hoping it'd be just a hey how are you yeah that's not for the record that's not going to go well I know but um yeah but I think realistically like try and trying to get the work of the boards Done Right which one gets priority the so it's not it's not set in stone yet but just to give people a heads up that it might be half a working meeting out of necessity so if we're just slipping on that this if this is like a public discussion in August like we have to to be publicizing that now summer vacations we already experienced at our own boards that if we ever want people to attend on August 27th it has to be wide we can start having that we can start putting that out there I think in the town newsletter like I think there really needs to be a strong publicity to well what strong publicity to you what does that include like specifically and well I don't on the newsletter yeah I that helps I mean the website we can put it on the board agenda mention it yeah we can get that in newsletter yeah because I mean I you know I generally get my news from the newsletter you know um so I'm like if people aren't getting their news from the newsletter but where are they getting it I don't know someone needs to tell us right so I think people get it from some of the Facebook groups but I also prioritized the newsletter yeah so I think we can put it on the Ashlin Facebook yeah page um you know and hopefully people have that clicked and so it goes into their Facebook y so so but yeah we can start um putting that out there um we think that's a pretty solid date but we can just also put a heads up please be watching for these public forums um so okay so what about um anything else on joint meetings guest speakers okay um and obviously I think other things will come in as we as as we interact with them sometimes we think of new things process and procedures um can we start with Comprehensive plan there we have been talking about comprehensive plan I got the impression that this was about where does the planning board and the comprehensive PL during committee intersect is that is that um not I know I put this on Anna might have as well but it's the conversation that Anna had earlier that there will be no zoning changes coming out of the plan but there will be recommendations but the things that are very obvious now like in the vision and the themes we do not have to wait another year we would be remiss as a community to just pretend that nothing needs to be looked at now and could be and the planning board having zoning jurisdiction needs to be part of it and start kind of pushing that along I think being a part of what zoning changes and and like the zoning changes we like such as the ones we've disced of at the beginning of in the first part is that what you mean I'm just trying to get specifics about what you're saying it it's I would say the simplest thing is what Anna reminded that they can go parallel they do not have to wait to end yeah and I don't think I her certainly hope it was maybe it was me that implied that we should wait for comprehensive plan but never have I thought that we have to sit on our hands until that thing is done it's more about those big decisions about rezoning things you know makes me a little hesitant until we to see what's coming out of that like to some some of the bigger moves the little moves no I'm not that's not what I'm concerned about I'm wor worried about the bigger moves that I think the comprehensive plan I assumed was kind of all about what what's our big directions right and those are the ones I was hesitant to I agree that's the same page that I was on and I and I'm not saying like I know we're still a year out from like everything written and formalized and all those things and we might have a vision and things like that which I think we're going to get updates on jointly with the select board at some point soon I think for some of us who aren't as intimately like aware of what those themes are that are coming out like it would be helpful to once we have something pretty Concrete where they say this isn't probably this isn't really going to change much like this is this is the input this is the feedback like these are the these are the themes we can take some direction from that and I don't I personally don't feel strongly it has to be like complet completely done and dusted as a comp like voted on and approved in order for us to start putting things into the works because of how long things take I do think that like I would love to see those things and like right now I think for some of us who aren't you know at every steering committee meeting the way that you guys are it's probably less clear to us what those things are and so once they come to us and that we do have that joint update I feel like it would it will feel easier and better to sort of start taking some of those themes forward I I look at it as more I I agree with what you're saying I also think there's a piece of it that is slightly different in my view which is that the planning board plans and has zoning responsibility and is the one that has a vital role in the comprehensive plan and so technically it's a back and forth relationship in my mind so I look at it when I say it's congruent what I'm saying is we as a planning board have a responsibility to be the the organization the board in the town that should know what zoning changes should be happening and we should be delivering that information and expertise to the comprehensive plan committee to help the process work more efficiently it should be a back and forth and at the same time the public feedback that they're Gathering through the really important public engagement comes back to us I look at it as a conversation that's happening congruently I don't look at it as they decide which zoning to do and that's what we do I look at it as a a back and forth a communication which is why you have two planning board members on the committee so that that conversation can be ongoing so to me it's much more of a partnership not necessarily a US telling them what to do or them telling us what to do I I think for I think for me though it's like um you know there are things that like like you said that we have these okay um adus and um um airbnbs these are kind of hot topics we need to kind of hey comprehensive plan these are kind of hot topics we need to we need as the planning board need to deal with because it's in our purview and they're very of today right on the other hand when we talk about the the two boards I see like the the steering committee is Ashland with this huge body carefully chosen for different districts different committees and we're five people and so I'm very I'm for one very conscious of that difference of five six with Amanda sorry six people on a board and the town of Ashlin making a decision about its comprehensive plan coming from the people coming from the residents so I'm a little H I'm I'm not quite as uh I'm not quite thinking this is a kind of an equal partnership I'm like we're the we're the boy that has to get it done yeah right but you're you're Ashland which is also us we are ash right like there's people on the compreh hensive plan that have expertise in like Elder Affairs and their job is to bring that perspective so we as the planning board members have a responsibility to bring the planning perspective to the comprehensive plan committee it's true it's just that we just have to remember that the the zoning bylaws are passed by the residents not by the planning board absolutely but it's the planning board that drafted zoning changes it's the only board in town that has that jurisdiction and so it's a it's a back and forth and I guess what I'm I'm reiterating is we have to remember our responsibility is zoning and therefore that is what we need to deliver to the comprehensive plan committee we have to be able to communicate very clearly we're not the sustainability committee we're not the Elder Care folks we are the planning board and so therefore when the comprehensive plan committee talks about zoning it's Kate and I that have to be able to communicate we the planning board have looked into this and this is what we've learned yeah not we voted for a zoning change but we as the com as the planning board have knowledge base on adus and here's what we can deliver to you because that's our thing that we can deliver to you as the comprehensive plan committee so that you you have our research you have our information to make the decisions to create priorities right but we as a planning board are the ones that are supposed to have that knowledge base that's why Kate and I are in the room to do that so I I think I complet completely agree with that I think what um and I don't want to speak here Tisha I think I think we might be aligned like on just the order of operations where like for me on some of the bigger picture things that we haven't really delved into much yet I would like to like or bigger picture conceptual things I would I personally feel like we would be remiss to not take the opportunity to hear from this very large community board when we're like within months of like having a pretty final vision to say hey planning board these are the things that our community cares about they're zoning is things please go look at them come back with your expertise and start to have that conversation I don't want to be making a list for the town before I hear like I I don't want to go the wrong direction on that part of the conversation so I'd rather for like adus for airbnbs for the tree pres some of the stuff that like is in the works is existing and we know as a community we're going to get caught out like if if we're not ready for it that feels very different to me than some of the bigger pictural conceptual things like hotels downtown which like that's a a community conversation that I feel like we want to hear from the community Through via the comp plan which is if it if we were 15 years away from our next comp plan that would feel very different but we are like in the thick of it right now where we are going to get some clear Direction pretty soon and I feel like taking some of the cues as to what the community wants to prioritize that might be within our realm and then we take our notes from that develop of our expertise around it and go back to the comp plan with it makes perfect sense but for me I I think I want to leverage that Community body to be able to be telling us a little bit about what's important because it seems like when we always talked about the comprate that we didn't have a up-to-date comprehensive plan so the planning board didn't have this thing to refer to in making our decisions which is the agreement of the town about what the town wants and so that's where I'm like well where's where's the thing I can refer to like oh this is what the town voted for versus oh I put in there what I wanted to you know it seems backwards right we build the comp plan as like this is the vision for ashin for the next 20 30 years right I don't want to I don't want to take the legs out from under that and do something really big picture that from a zoning change perspective and when we've said we want the vehicle for the vision for Ashlin for the next 20 to 30 years to be the comp plan like I want those big I would personally like to see those sort of big Vision items that then will fall under zoning because we I think we all understand no one's going to tee up a bylaw for us but the conceptual stuff for to basically tell us this is what the town wants this is what the community wants planing board go do your job and figure out how to do it I want to be clear that uh like you I thought of it as a 20 to 30 year thing yeah but in fact it's been referred by by folks as 10 to 15 so um right now I think it's fairly confusing to the community what the number is and I would have to go back to the original work plan that was given to the consultant to give you the right answer but I I just wanted to clarify that if you're thinking of it as 20 to 30 years that's not long term yeah that's not necessarily how it was presented to the community 10 203 I'll feel quite somehow that got a little cut down but I I guess I guess to your point if we were planning for 30 years I might have very different feelings about this list than if we were planning for 10 to 15 so I just want to be very clear I guess so I can amend my comment and take the number of years away but say that it has been buil to the town as like the vision for the town of ashin like what you want to see the town of ashin become so for me that still means that the some of the big picture conceptual items like I don't want to take them to the comp plan before the comp plan tells us it's something that the community wants to prioritize and I think that that's different from and then I think we do have to go do that work when the community the when we're told by the community this is what they want to prioritize need I guess for me I've already heard the public through the comprehensive plan process focus on downtown revitalization so much but I'm already thinking about what that means and to me the downtown thing is worth exploring the down hotels because that is already being discussed not as a the hotels thing is a solution to the priority but the priority of revitalization and Business and Entrepreneurship and creating downtown businesses and all of that kind of for me is like oh obviously we should think about hotels because we should think about what could be the potential so yeah the comprehensive plan is not yet at a phase of what are the 20 possible solutions that could solve Reit alization to it just I'm starting to think that way because the public is already saying revitalization downtown jobs growth Etc so and history and trees right so to me it's all interrelated already to what I believe we're hearing at the comprehensive plan it's just like thinking ahead to what is our job not the consultant which is drafting um but to your point like nobody's going to be voting for any of this stuff until there's a thorough public process thorough feedback from the public and a vote that has zero to do with us and more to do with town so you know it has to be past the town meeting it's not our decision um we just have to reflect the values of what we're hearing and I don't look at this as a definitive list of what we're going to prove I look at this as like worth exploring for a continued conversation between ourselves with the comprehensive plan committee with the public exploration of those values um and maybe rezoning eventually um the little bit I've seen from us it takes us forever to reone so realistically none of these things will happen until years after the comprehensive plan process and I think that's exactly where where my thought process is it's like this list could get five or 10 things longer based on impa based on feedback from the comp plan right and so and it will and it should and so we're so close to having that that I feel like and how long things take I feel like let's tackle like the ones that don't I think it's just we're exploring some some smaller issues and some bigger issues and we're exploring them and um we realize that some are low hanging fruit probably and some aren't and that and that's okay to have things on different scales you know um is there anything else on that top half I mean I don't think um this is the proc so the the implementation I I think it it may not solely rest with us but I think I mean not to go backwards but the last time there was comprehensive plan process it was stopped by the planning board um people talk about it's sitting on the shelf we I've worked given way too much time to see that happen I think the other 28 people part of it have given too much time to that happen but if we're not proactive about that that that could kind of sort of happen because we weren't ahead enough of that and I I feel like the planning board can offer not not again to say we're doing it this way because it's bigger than us but I think yeah well if there's a conversation that the planning board has with the steering committee process about when we get to that point about okay well how do these things happen like let's talk to the planning board because they're the ones that make zoning changes great yeah let's do it you know about how how does how do this board whoever's sitting in these seats you know how do we make that process where we we make these things happen based on the book that's in front of us that's not on the Shelf that's on our table right I I think that's ideal you know that's that's the but the reality is if to really do this like it will be bigger than the six of us in my opinion oh yeah I'm not saying you just talked about the involvement to the planning board so that's why I'm talking about the involvement to the planning board think implementation best practices have us starting to brainstorm recommendations of that back to the committee in the way and I was talking about that conversation like we've done some thinking about it and research we think this is some things to consider I guess I would need um um maybe to see some things from other committees I don't even know what that list looks like I don't know I don't know that's what I think I'm saying as that's last I would like to see where the where they are because I think we're so much more disconnected well I mean like best practice like I don't know what like if if if there's examples from other comprehensive plans about best practic because I don't even know what you're question you're asking me and so if I had a list of oh well we have we have tea parties and and we have U meetings and we have like like I don't know what that means so if I saw a list of what breast practices are I'm like oh I have some other ideas in that category but I can't even tell you what that means so so I mean I guess that that's the conversation do we think that's worthwhile of the planning board putting effort to start looking at implementation to produce something to give to the steering commit sure I think I would like to see it if that's something that how other communities have done it yeah if if we're obviously the board that that um implement or you know that has the process to make zoning changes and that will be something we are looking we want to be looking at this book as a guide for our work um I would both take information about what best practices planning board should have because I don't know and I would be willing to add to that list if I have other ideas that aren't already on the list so I think that would be a good thing to start educating the planning board about about that about what happens after this book is complete and on the table you know I think it's a great idea so fiscal Impact Tool I I think we have uh not to cut off the comprehensive plan but watching our time um I think Peter's kind of on that yeah I just gave an update obviously had a meeting with Mark last week and actually IA email te up and I'll send it out so and we'll continue to work toward I think what you're talking about Kate is to have something that's consistently used that's as accurate as such a tool can be so that we have a means to compare things and I think that's part of kind of your ongoing education of to like how do we how can we get to this point how do you get to this point you know I think when other communities seem to be perhaps behind us rather than ahead of us yeah I think we had a good tool that was developed by Economist by Eon by Economist when we did there is um there's so many nuances in that tool how does it apply to all projects I don't think it could be in or can be so I think that's kind of a goal of a fiscal impact tool is to take it and say okay how does this apply across the board right and and that's what I'm talking to America about and so couple their Prof two of their professors that's who I was talking to last week and so they're still in that process to kind of and they're in interested in they're engaged because part of their purpose right is to help serve the region right as a economic you know economic Hub of information at Framingham State so that's ongoing and obviously it's it's it's it's moving forward I know it's slow but I think it's a very it's a tough nut to crack at the end of the day so yeah so the last category I think the planning board processes are are definitely um things that have it's kind of like a checklist of things that we have talked about you know over the past year or so um so good for you Kate for actually keeping maybe track of them um or kind of brainstorming as to what all these things were that we that we talked about um so I I actually printed I think I forgot to bring other stuff it it was simply um it was from like a regional planning best practices right one piece of paper it I I'm actually probably glad I didn't bring as well because people get distracted this isn't appropriate but it literally had like the application came in here's when the 90 days comes up when I asked for continuances and we would make our own I just but I like the idea because I feel like that could also be public to say the the long breaks are bothersome for everyone in my opinion and certainly public trying to pay pay attention so trying to be the most transparent and communicative about them like did the applicant ask for one did we ask for one right so there's like a a a a document or a list online or a page for each project yeah that kind of just it kind of just spells it out it's like right project it's got a review with our third party I I personally I like checklists and I would make it complete right and some things are na because it's never going to go to the Conservation Commission right but um and it's never going to go to the traffic and we say no but like it's as you know somewhat easy to lose track of like we we've been at the pinch point of projects realizing we didn't get that last letter back right and we have to be scrambling that's happened so I feel like that would help with that yes so do you you you kind of suggest that maybe there was a sample letter you found that might be a useful starting point not finish you guys would be saying this is too much I so I'm glad I didn't bring it away I I will I can email it I can I think have a starting point even if you say well this is five you see what I'm thinking about but you could also get distracted and say because it's not really I'm think it's a it's both I think ours should be just very I don't know like the example has like when did I get the application when was the thing published and I don't know if we need to collect all those right um but maybe this might be a terrible analogy but it's almost like the Domino's Pizza Tracker but for a project before us because i' I've recently seen a ton of community questions Bubble Up about like sorry I love that thing I kind of want to know what the Domino's Beach attractor not going to lie no please enlight me I'm Le what Fe your order is in and it's amazing I know how to clean a rug and I know how to order I know how to follow a pizza kind of hungry right now 20 minutes you know yeah we and there's a new one in h i just I haven't ordered yeah um I haven't used the Domino's piz tracker in a long time because there's not a Domino's that delivers to my address in ashy but it's Wonder anyway having sort of a very clear like visual of like where is a project in its life cycle because I have seen a lot of community questions Bubble Up recently about like hey whatever happened to the fire project or what's going on with the why and like to be able to see on our web page like okay this was this is approved this is now like in the applicant's corner to build it or like to get get building inform six Chestnut St it came up recently where's there a question around the firehouse there was a question around like you know all these things where it can be like you know this is not the pl board approve this on this date or it's it's paused because the applicant requested a continuance on this date you know what I hasn't come back before the board um I feel like that's a would be incredibly useful I it's a great idea and part of that is I didn't really bring it up but it's I think it is related like how can we do a better job of publicity we don't have a ton of time to spend doing it right and it it takes time because I've been working hard for it in the comprehensive plan and it's a lot of time right to try to just do my part for publicity but I feel like at least having it and then educating people it's there might might be something I think to me that's it like it's there um it's there for us it's there for the community um we might have to remind people that it's there but if they go looking it is there for them read it's easy to read it's easy to comprehend because even if you go to our website and it's it's it's organized but there's a lot there it's super overwhelming you have to know what you're looking for you have to understand the documents that are there and I think there are members of the community who put that work in and understand it but I think great idea I it would be a useful tool both for us and for the community so are we looking we're not looking for a document list we're looking for actual step in the kind of it's sort of like a combo yeah I sent a couple to Kate just now that I found I mean in other Massachusetts towns so it's not going to be impossible to start somewhere like that that stuff exists we just need to create it for Ashland because our bylaws are different in our process I think I I can help put that together easier so I guess one question is do we need it and want it as detailed as they applied on it got published on that the one I have has that and I torn on that but I think some of that stuff which is in the realm of like way I put it is is not what we or the public needs like that to me would be distracting from the real things that I think they you guys want you want to update on the website you know um like a public hearing was on like for 24 Tower Road you could say public you know July 25th you know public hearing opened uh you know information taken in planning board continued to yeah August 22nd as a bullet point under the case on our case website to say like where it is or like it could also be a document that's in our binders if that's what you're looking for then you're like then that's a different story you know it could be a combination I me I think that to Kate's point like you want the public to be aware of where the project is to my point I want us to know what's well that's fine I think it's in your bind is not a problem I think that can lie on me and I can I can help work that process through you know I think if it's on the website it's just that you know we're doing a lot and the day-to-day bases and stuff it's like what what do we need what we want what we could do on the website is just put up scan that document when we update if we have a document can that be scanned to add I don't know I guess I was IM imagining I there we have site plan and we have special permits each one is going to have a checklist that checklist is a general checklist for any project that should be publicized at a minimum so the public knows the planning board and the applicants know these are the checklist steps we expect then when a project starts that's the first date on any any checklist right I don't know if we need to constantly at every meeing scan it for the public as long as we're tracking it ourselves and we have that as part of the record in some way um yeah I think it's a lot of work to have to scan it at every meeting you're upda you're up on the website it's a it turns into almost two different things that we're talking about I think there's something would be in our binders it's a little bit more detailed and then something that's like super distilled as like a project status tracker on our website which is like like show basically like phases of of a Project Life Cycle that public hearing open public hearing close decision render because more like a timeline yeah yeah okay so there's two ways um is that everybody sort of bring examples or send them to me and I'll try to call because I like there's a lot of ideas and that's why I didn't try to actually create something because it's simple and complicated so um I mean it sounds like there's a pattern that Peter knows as to which groups you know need to clear every project so if Peter can give you that list that seems like an important list the list of like I think it makes sense for for k shment whatever you know share what's going on you know what she's looking for you know and then I can manipulate it and say okay nope this is the this is the process this the procedures we kind of have in Ashland you know how it comes in when it gets stamped in but also when's the prec you know when's the is there departmental review meeting you could say check those obviously memo issued did we get the memo from the tech review like I just I guess like we're just I just want to be able to say we got it or not so maybe the thing is too that really first of all we formulate one list and that's the list for us what we want to keep track of then it's like okay how do we we can simplify this for the public right like what do they want to know when they that's cool they probably don't you know like okay not this yes these three things you know when we got a project like you when we open the public hearing you know this is out this is a continuous at the applicants request it's a it's you think of some projects where we've said you know we need drawings and we don't get drawings for three months or whatever it is people can see that that's a applicant needed continuance and the project is stopped for that right now stop before the board at the moment or I think that's really important yeah and then or you know all the way through completion where it's like this is approved by the planning board it is now off in its life as a project that come to fruition yeah so let's focus on the document for us so and then can people I guess that have to send suggestions to Peter for list back to me is that I'll send what I can to both of you yeah see I think you can both be emailed ideas for the memor andon things went to me and or just computer so we don't have a viol I'm saying of open Mina law so you could send it just to me like just going in One Direction yeah this isn't we're not talking about here we're not talking about talked talk it's a procedural P true it's procedural Soom you com yeah comments of things you think we need to keep track of and I will try to make it in some sort of sure preliminary list to look at to clean up but I'm excited about that you all agree I like it for this we've got OCD all of us we're all into it personalities I'm it's not even OCD is just making it easier I think it's like I don't know if I have OCD he does not he does the rest of us I'm talking about the board I like to keep my car clean but like kind of like Peter literally looks concerned I don't have it Peter's chill how dare you imply you notice he's not protesting he didn't protest us he's like I'm fine I put their white flag all of us should be a little more like Peter is what I'm saying would probably be much happier and have a much better actually to make get easier so you don't have like you don't have to remember you don't have to like just in my job we're in the middle of an internal company implementation and we have things like matrixes and you know um things like that so at least we're not doing that Peter we don't have any project Matrix God Bless you that's Google Google shared unless unless anyone is really if there's really something that needs to be discussed that people are like man I really wanted to talk about outdoor dining you know or something I I think given that it's 9:30 we can we go on to the I think this to the wrap up okay is there anything that needs to be like I feel like the concept we all agree with these things and that's why we put it at the end and I feel like the way to do this is to start seeing them on the agenda and even if it's small right like like the review of the decision document template I know you more or less have that handled Trish I'm not super worried but I guess I put it because I don't want to put that all on you as the chair I feel like we have Collective responsibility um I I guess I I mean are you looking for an agenda topic that says how to make meetings more efficient and that's our agenda topic no uh no but I feel like that should be another retreat but um no I said the review of the decision document template so that could be an agenda item and we could spend we said we're going to spend 15 or 20 minutes and look through that do we want any more changes for example yeah we we could I mean it if if we have some of these slow you know some of these empty meetings we could do that it would require people to really take a close look at those things in advance yeah um so that's fine if people want to do it yeah I mean the tighter they are and you spend some time in advance the easier they are when we get to a decision true that's true there's definitely some things I've been we all have the thing that we go back to every time yeah with our powers combined yeah yeah so okay so we'll start looking to yeah I mean some of these things are like application status that seems like that's already covered in the what we just talked about kind of long best practices for yeah so it's like some of these are maybe tied into that document um but other things um yeah I think a lot of them are tied into the document but but others aren't like the like the template so I do think it would be helpful to talk about how to make our meetings more efficient yeah um as far as timing and I feel like sometimes we're inconsistent we give certain like typically we want to hear from the applicant we want to hear from the public sometimes we we take questions sometimes we don't sometimes we have a back and forth with the applicant sometimes we don't I do Wonder at some point if we want to come up with again I don't want to use the word best practices and overuse it but like in the ideal world if we have three projects on an agenda how much time do we give a project how do how do we decide how much time to give it project and how do we maintain that level of continuation so that our meetings don't go off until 10:00 at night not that I'm against that sometimes it's necessary and I don't wanted to like say o we can't do that when it's necessary because we got to meet a deadline so obviously projects sometimes have to happen within a certain amount of time and and we need to do what we need to do but I do feel like it's worthwhile at some point to like brainstorm the timing of our work and how we want to contain it sometimes no offense to certain applicants I'm just like why do I need to hear this I can read it like or um sometimes there's more of a benefit to like an open conversation with the applicant from the GetGo and less of an introduction um sometimes I feel like some of the applicants it's almost like a marketing thing like wait I'm not I'm not going to be the one living in this apartment like I don't need to know about the amenities for the public like that's going to live there I need to hear about the design and the zoning like sometimes I feel like we we are almost not aware of time and then it's like 10 10 o'clock I I think it's I mean coming from my perspective about having to schedule these things over the past three years that um it's just not I think things are getting better right in how we're organizing things absolutely and they can't always get better yet but to try to set up some kind of template that's going to work like every week and for every project to me it's like I I don't see how that's happening to me it's more about um where I think that Clarity is is about again it puts on more on the chair and potentially the vice chair to look at the project before it comes to the planning board to see if we w't even put it on our agenda or if it's ready like that's kind of was under my thing like a process because I feel like that's dogged us a lot right yeah well sometimes it's hard because it's like Peter's looking at the stuff but he's not an architect right I I can look at the stuff and say well what's that what's this what's that right and so is that does that become my job right that and what if there's a chair that's not an architect who isn't going to pick up on the things that I'm going to pick up on right whether something is ready is really perception too yeah so um so It's tricky in that way and that's what makes every project a little bit different right um and hard to and it is different how you're going to schedule when you have to have three public hearings in a meeting because of circumstances and when you only have one those are two very different meetings having a checklist that Kate is talking about will will help us I agree because if we have a checklist and it's transparent to the applicant then that will guide us and the meetings can become much more efficient like where are you in the checklist what are we focused on today I guess for me what I'm suggesting is I'm not criticizing the way we've been doing it I think we've done everything to become more efficient and we've made massive improvements in our process I think what I'm saying is what else can we squeeze out I'm thinking about the presentations themselves from the applicants I find can be way shorter and way to the point of what we need and the stuff there's a lot of extra stuff that they throw in because they're trying to sell the project to us rather than go for what we actually need how could we make that better maybe maybe there needs to be a conversation with the applicant ahead of time as to our expectation when you present is that you focus us on the zoning here's the zoning pieces that apply we don't need to hear about the beauty of this project and the marketing for the community you're not trying to sell this to us we need to hear the bylaw applicability give us that then if you want to fluff it up with some extras have fun but at a minimum they should start their presentations with this is zoning that applies this is how we fit the project like give me what I actually need for my decision rather than frankly it takes them like multiple presentations sometimes to get to what actually matters um yeah I think we need to be care I mean I I agree partly because I think you know for different projects but I also think um there is a lot in a big project there is a lot of information that I want on day one and I don't want it in three sentences I wanted to hear it in detail right and I think it's important for the public to understand some of the conceptuals stuff versus I don't want to comment on it before I hear all about it right and other times I think because we have questions we Veer off on a tangent and we have a big discussion about something else versus saying nope we're not going to discuss um affordable affordability right now because that's not that's not the presentation we're going to discuss that in two of two more meetings when we get there but that's not maybe not what people are going to think different things in the board affordability is really important to me I want to disc it today no I want to discuss sustainability so it's going to be really hard to can we to keep that on track but I agree with the zoning how does your project deal with zoning in my opinion the sooner we get to that the better because it grounds us and it organizes where we believe as a board we we have weaknesses in the project very very quickly is there a way to almost give like an outline with suggested time that we want to see from an applicant like I don't know whether we do that but we have given them like like okay you have 20 minutes for your presentation or whatever it was over and for a big project like for a big project for someone who you know like that is not a lot of time on a project this size and but I'm wondering if within that just to sort of address I think some of the big picture stuff is helpful and useful to say like okay what is this like you know what are we talking about what are we doing what does it look like because I think we actually do get into the nitty-gritty of like where's the tree going to go and is there a bench and like that so like if we completely have them like not give us an overview at all at the beginning I think we'll end up having more convoluted conversations later but I do wonder if we can say at the opening of a project here is you know we are affording you 20 minutes and we would really like you know three minutes of like a fly over of the project of like a really good look at the exterior we would like you to jump to the zoning quickly and and focus for 10 minutes on that and then we would like you know you to move on and sort of wrap up with your conclusion and any concluding remarks for and sort of give like in parentheses like how much time we expect them to spend on each thing to be able to say like this is what we value we don't want you to just completely gloss over this we and and and we will spend time we are a thorough board but like this is in the interest of time this is the starting place and then we're going to take it to questions I think I think I think there could be some general guidelines you know like that knowing that that presentation isn't going to cover all the information we're going to want and we're all going to have to be patient saying okay yeah I'd like to talk about sustainability but they're not going to be able to get to it today because we've asked them to do these other things right and to able to say like this is do you have those conversations with the applicant because you seem to know because that's the first time I've heard of it that there's this plan and that would be helpful to know well no I mean but it's not it's not that specific Peter and I when we've had three public hearings we've said and you know I have said tell them that they can have no more than 20 minutes to present this is like maybe when we have an hour for that project they can no more than 20 minutes you know so but I haven't given thing like oh focus on the bylaws or spend three minutes on this hasn't been anything more than that like you get this amount of time and then we're going to questions from the board on us not to say what's important at least try yeah but I think we also like when we did when we're doing the 10 to 16 million project you know which at this point was all virtual there were some nights where it's was like Hey we're going to focus on environmental okay the Environmental Engineers coming on and we're going to focus on that part like you know I mean that totally makes sense to me so we were doing that we were doing that and I think on a big project and we did that for tenness I mean for chestn street we said okay from you know what's the legality what I'm talking more about like the everyday project you're talking about the everyday project stuff the big projects obviously are going to get broken down into sub parts and that's corre we need to focus on but the but even on the sub parts there's generally a bylaw or something applicable I guess what I'm suggesting is let's ground Us in the ultimate thing we got to do the ultimate thing we got to do is draft a decision that's consistent with the bylaws there's elements to every single meeting we have big project or little I'm just suggesting I've noticed I'm being honest well I'll be in I will listen to an applicant and there's a lot of fluff and there's not a lot of substance to what actually matters to what a decision is and we we tend to repeat things because that's what happens because people want to come in and sell they're not necessarily focused on what we do which is we got to draft a decision and mark up certain points the most useful meetings we've had in my opinion are those where we as a board are looking at those elements and we're thinking about do we have enough on this element do we have that that's what we should be doing with the applicant the applicant Behavior thing too if we tell them that's what we expect like I wonder if things will come to us cleaner like and require less discussion down the line I don't think it needs to be super super like directed and obviously we're not going to say like the buzzer dings like your three minutes on the intro to the project are over but I wonder if just some saying what we think is important and what we like to see and some allocation like I mean we do that in presentations like when we get let's say when we get a um when we're going to go to we're going to present like an RFP they tell us like what they want to see and and how much time time they want to spend on each thing and what's important to them and I wonder if some direction will help I almost like an opening statement from US that says we welcome the applicant we're excited to hear about the project we have some general guidelines of what we seek in each project we're ultimately you know grounded in the bylaws this is the bylaw that applies we're hoping your presentation will bring us there as quickly as possible like I I also think and this is a it's probably somewhat biased but I also think it's true I think there's difference in the presentations and the fluff Factor depending on when the presentation is given by the attorney no offense to those at the table and when it's given by the architect you know or the engineer because they don't deal a lot in fluff right they're explaining the project they're explaining the why they made the moves that they did why it sits on the site the way it does and I think the sales sometimes is coming from the people that don't it's very evident to me they don't really understand the project they're they're regurgitating kind of what they've been yeah what what they've what they've heard or whatever versus the architect being able to explain the project so it might be sometimes that we want the pro we want the project to be explained by the architect right not by a representative not by you know and that would get through some of the I mean they can explain the some of it right some of it I me I don't know that we can demand that I don't know if that's I'm not sure we can too but I think that's a careful thing about like the about the fluff in the presentation cuz I don't always experience that listen there's benefits to both like a lot of what we do is we have to focus on the placement of a tree or a bench or look at details on the building I'm all for it I actually am trying to say the exact opposite of that which is like in addition to those details I wasn't thinking about criticizing the details all of it is important we want the basis of the project we want all the chitectural and design details we also want the bylaw to me it doesn't really matter who's doing it lawyer or non-lawyer the bylaws to me tend to be missing the most and then by the time we get to our decision I feel like we're the ones doing the heavy lifting and we're trying to remember what do we have on this project from that point and it doesn't really matter to me if it's an architect or an attorney who does it someone needs to bring us back yeah but what I'm saying is that on some of these bylaws is um how I don't know the exact afterward but how is this fitting into the community yes right exactly so in explaining that they need to explain not because this tree I'm not talking about that level of detail I'm talking about the big moves on the site Y and how those things were placed and that comes better from the person that did it than the person who's trying to sell it right so um usually the people that are trying to sell it are the developers not the attorneys um lawyers are super annoying I'm not going to disagree with that but uh I I can't think of a lot of projectss where we've had lawyer presentations the ones I'm criticizing in my mind the ones I remember standing out tends to be the developer not the architect who is kind of spending quite a bit of time on things where I'm just like okay we're going to pass this thing stop trying to convince me get to the you know we need to talk about conditions we need to talk about the requirements of the bylaw um that's what I was referencing well why don't we again now it's it's getting quarter to 10 and we still have other things to do on our agenda so why don't we there's obviously a discussion here about especially when these big projects come on and how we can get them through a little bit quicker so I will have it noted that um that we need to talk about that um more and um and I'm very open to that because I don't like to be here all night either and it really was no offense about attorneys in general just attorneys I don't practice anymore the record I I've been in compliance in a finance company in an operational role for almost 10 years so we can insult lawyers all you want um I happen to have a law degree and I'm active but I don't actually practice law so I'm a practicing attorney but I do find out practicing attorneys and myself often quite annoying exactly I'll and I'll I'll second that I'll make a motion to second that yeah I'm with you on that one so no offense taken well I'm I'm happy to have you both on the board because you have strengths that I do not I think that's what makes this a strong board so um okay so uh agenda um planning board retreat check okay so going through the things that we have to go through I assume you're good on comprehensive plan or is there more that I don't have anything else to say that you want to announce um just we should make sure the the joint meeting with the select board September September 4th yep that's on the agenda I believe on their upcoming meetings on our agenda y as a remind on the second page and just to note Kate and Anna um well to everybody the next meeting is August 15th and that's going to be at back at the library okay for the com for the you mean for the comprehensive for the comprehensive plan yep August 15th August 15th so unless there's other things is there anything for Metro West Regional they haven't done anything they take the summer off so this is obviously just an update item a report and not a full discussion nor do we have time but um the First on MBTA obviously there's a a calendar here um that is being filled out about MB the MBTA regulations and we will as Kate suggested start advertising for the the two public discussions which are not public hearings those come later um but the general public discussions which which we also had last time which is a which was a really great and valuable way to get um just some really open feedback about what people thought should be included and not included we got some great questions you know on there so what we were planning to do is to as you see um in the first box there SEL board and planning board update because as you know it's very hard to get the two boards together um Peter and alv were going to give a presentation a more formal update um uh for the planning board on the 25th for us um it's not something that necessarily needs to be ours it's just uh to to um make sure we're up to date on that we wanted to do it before we have these public discussions so you kind of see where we're are all everything that we're are is actually reflected on these sheets so which I'll talk about in a minute um and then the select board on that so Joe minani on um 8:14 um oh yeah okay sorry sorry um so we're giving like a little update now and we're going to have a more of an update on um um when we have our joint meeting will be kind of the big thing wait a minute Peter what is update boards about so we update Boards of the kind of process so yeah no see this should be this should be in August um sorry so that's 7:25 should be 8 25 so our so there's going to be 8:22 sorry um so on that date we're going to have a more a a bigger discussion just on the planning board we can invite the select board if they want to come we can also go to theirs if people want to participate but we just didn't think we'd be able to get everyone together again right so we said hey we'll do these updates separately in the boards um and um and then proceed with the public discussions then come back with a formal meeting with the select board and the planning board in the same room to to talk about all the results from that with updates in between of course in between the public discussions so what the what these things are obviously one is the calendar this one which is um the M yeah and uh I apologize that ELO didn't didn't catch all of my tweaks on this so and I think some of them are really important so um the um the thing in red below actually as on the map should have been marked in Orange so that it's not supposed to be highlighted in red it should be orange because as you can see from the key they're projects that are approved but not built and ucg is in that category it's not supposed to be I'm going to have him update this and send it to the board so it's correct and also that line about not considering Ed in fall fall MBTA proposal that shouldn't be there um it's meant just to understand what this is and the kind of the you know what that project is um we are look we are looking for um how can we not include that project if we don't want to include it because that's the one one of the ones we Mark as high risk Kate asked the question before like well why not and so we tried in this chart to out line hey what's it permit what's the benefits of it now right so that benefit is it's it's a low unit count um it's 25% affordable and it's age restricted all of which go away if it's in just MBTA zoning right so um so that's why we tried that's why we were like trying to take that out but we have not made a decision that it's absolutely coming out and I think that's so what's before and you guys were going to do is like what is the zoning now it could be there the only way to yeah so that's what's under the F right so the second to last comment is pro proposed permitted built units per acre um and that shouldn't be units per acre that should be density um so again I I'm going to have a fresh copy sent because this isn't quite right the density is showing what it's um you know what's it what it's proposed as permitted as right um and then the next one is units per acre that's a result of of that permitting so um so I don't know if that I don't know if that answers your question I mean I think it's just the titles to make sense of them like you want the titles to make sense what is what is currently proposed built proposed or allowed because like 1060 Main Street doesn't have any housing but you're saying so I it's confusing yeah so proposed meant um with the current um with the current numbers coming in as 4 The 40b Proposal yep so should we label those as 40b proposal thought we were going to say without like the base I thought we were going to the base zoning right now if nothing changed okay I thought we agreed to that because that's the way to make sense of it so um we we can add another column in there we think we were going to look at current zoning yes what does the current zoning allow for density from a density standpoint yes yeah well just a note there's a couple different things right there's F which is FL a ratio right which is a different which is a different mathematical calculation of how many units you can get on an A on a on a lot then you have then you have you know and then the MBTA is units per acre right so you're you're trying to mesh two different calculations into one which is very difficult to do especially when you're talking about F because it's more of a lot calculation and then you got to get into unit size X Y and Z yeah the same building with the exact with a two F can have one unit on it or it can have 100 units on it same F right and that's what's in the Zoning for some of these districts is f not units per acre so you can't there is no number to give right you have to say well on you're taking the average so the AL just to me is what is the way I think about it because I'm thinking to Prior discussions we had with the select board what matters to me I think is what is the current zoning it's not about density necessarily as much as like what does the current zoning allow period because does it allow five stories or four stories does it allow 16 stories because once you have a 40b you can pretty much do whatever stories you want yeah so so it's not just about density to to your point Peter yeah it's a different definition of density but we do need to understand what's what is currently allowed in these areas we're proposing right we need to know where it doesn't need to be the same lingo right well um just so um 10 to 60 Main Street right that is under Zoning for that's in um add right it's add corre so that is uh I believe is it 2 minutes breaker or 1.5 F sorry not use units breaker F it's an F of two yeah that tells you nothing about the units per acre nor can I provide that because it doesn't f doesn't talk about units per acre but what does it allow what is it what's the so where did this number come from on the chart that's why I'm just that came from the 32 under no under 10 to 16 the 36 that came from what is being proposed by the 40b it's SL perent so we need to be more clear about what that number is about both what is what is allowed which is a two a 1.5 or two of f which is not attached to units per acre or the 36 units per acre which is being proposed by the 40b I know it's hard to the f is a really hard thing to get a hold of because it doesn't have to do with units per acre they can be three bedroom units or they can be studio apartments and you're going to get totally different units per acre so so I'm I don't want you guys to have to do work that's not necessary what I'm I'm trying to take myself back to the conversation we have with the select board where there was a res residents who were discussing um building or allowing their property into the 40b excuse me into the MBTA discussion the MBTA discussion next to the transation thank you next to the transation and the whole burnhams thank you so much and the whole discussion circled around this idea one of the ideas that we kept discussing was what could they do right now by right what could they do the when we look relative to MBTA and so to me what matters is an understanding of the these these areas right now what can you do there by right what can you do there by special permit and what would you be able to do there per MBTA that's what I'm visualizing right so what's so but what's important to understand just like as it was yeah it just that it was hard for those owners to understand is that property is determined by F and it is by right they can do housing by right they can they can do multi they can do they can do it by right not special permit that's what I mean that was not that was missing from Clarity and so for me but you still can't understand signed up by units per acre I get that and I get that too and I guess I'm okay with the imper to your point it's apples and oranges relative to density yes but it's still an instructive we need to be able to understand what is the current zoning and what is the MBTA zoning and yes they're different they're apples and oranges but it's a visual for the public and for us as to what we're changing we're moving from this kind of thing to this kind of thing we're moving from apples over here to oranges over here by right or do you know totally different I do it doesn't need to be the same apples apples but because it's apples to oranges we need to be able to convey that and we need to be able to communicate it because what I heard in our prior discussion with the select board is a lack of clarity that's what I heard I don't think it's clear even to the select board what is allowed there by right now or not I can tell you right now mixed use is allowed by right on that property under add right there's no but there's been no projects in Ash that have taken place under add I believe everything has been done under addc right uh add is the highest floor area ratio at 2 point at 2.0 right how many stories can they do by right three okay so they will probably never and no project right will ever hit 2.0 F on any project in Ashen because you have parking requirements and you have height limitations right so if you back up a little bit and you say okay well let's look at 10 to 16 let's look at looks like a 128 Main Street right that has a f of 1.5 I can tell you right now that I think that's at 1.8 no 1.08 right that is because it can't go that high as a 1.5 is because of all the other limitations that you have right sounds like another clean up like have something it might be it I mean f is a very common way to do things because it controls the mass of what you're putting there the shape how big is the box but it doesn't control what goes in the Box units per acre controls what goes in the box so there were I'm sure when this was created there was a and there there are very valid reasons for doing F it's hard to comp it doesn't match up to NBTA zoning which is units forer but what I'm hearing yes but so what I'm hearing is that and I like I I'm a little frustrated because some of these things aren't the corrections aren't made so what I'm what I'm going to do is to try to provide more information on a separate page like a one 8 and half by 11 table with more information it'll get more complicated but it's just more complicated um but it ultim makes it simpler if we can't explain this to people we're asking people to consider a change and we can't tell them what it is now I would I would say you're not going to get this passed we don't we don't know what weing if we cannot explain this to people they're not going to want to vote for it yeah I mean those questions it's a change it's not it's not yeah so that's what we'll we'll put to like I said I'm this I think it's not quite right I think our goal like one of our goals was to be able to convey to the public that the certain areas there's not even going to be change relative to what's already there so it would be good to be able to demonstrate that I guess but I also feel like we're creating extra work for you so I want to make it's all extra work at the end of the day but I'll tell you this right now under add you have two different things right and you're trying to and a the MBTA zoning right is trying to is is on the units per acre add is on F are yeah and so to to mesh those two things is difficult right and so I think what we're trying to show in this this this chart right which is which Alo put together nicely is that okay let's look at okay what was proposed what's the MBTA stuff going to be and what's the difference right and I think we can clean it up and we can get back and we can kind of send it out but this is difficult stuff right 100% and not everyone's going to be able to a will follow it and B knows the ins and the outs right but have to make this followable to the public I mean ultimately those are it will be and it and it is to tell you you know and it is um I I think it's going to be a mix some people will be able to follow it and some people are going to have a hard time following it because it's hard to follow and I'm not going to say that F can be made understandable to every single person but we'll do our best and maybe have to understand it in words not just on a piece of paper because it's it's just not it's very hard to make a visual representation of a complex zoning bylaw that speaks a different language from the MBTA I get that I really do can we I I don't know about you guys my brain is starting to slightly I think this is a very difficult thing to fix late at night that's why I didn't I wasn't intending to go into this it was supposed to be just an update so I'm very hesitant to even to even stand by my suggestions because I think it's so late at night that I don't want to like I'm going to take what I suggested back because because I feel like it's too late at night to even properly discuss this topic to the point where I can actually say change it I don't think it's a fair time no I'm going to work with Peter and Alo based on what we said today to to provide more information that hopefully makes it's simpler to to understand yeah and I I did not intend to create extra work at this hour I don't think that's fair no no like I said it's a it's a little yeah so um and El is on the same page he said I need people to look at it so I understand what they don't understand so I can help them understand maybe we should give this one more shot yeah I'm earlier in our meetings yeah yeah so anyway we'll be talking about it you guys can definitely you know maybe we have it on the agenda for the 8th yeah so that Peter and ELO like I don't need them to go through it with me again right they can go through it with you guys that's fine you know so um and that might be helpful okay sorry about that all right um don't need to do anything on number seven on number eight um there's nothing with Whitmore is there legally no we're just working with the attorneys continuously our conservations office is working with them legally um I'm having continued conversations with the um with the with the with the developers with the contractors we hope work to get done out there but we're we're following all avenues that we need to do and we're trying to be proactive to to make work to to get work going back out there to get it done okay the biggest thing I can talk to is number four and that's the Starbucks tomorrow is the ribbon cutting 4:00 if anybody's interested in being down there um the occupany print was granted today Saturday is the first day it'll be open um the police know Saturday this Saturday they're this Saturday they're open uh inside looks awesome it's been great um there are some outstanding landscape issues um that I've talked about with the owners with the developers with the um site workers um those are all elements um regarding the bushes in the front at the Apex um they're T they're taking taking those out um they were in the process of taking those out on yesterday um until we realized that they did not have a uh Dig Safe And there's some underground electrical wires that pertain to the overhead lights um and so therefore they stopped they halted a little bit so all the Landscaping is going to get done um obviously it's the best time to plant grass in September to get this grass growing um and so those all those issues are are conditioned on the occupancy permit um just as a note however the big story is Saturday coffee will be poured at Starbucks tomorrow is the ribbon cutting please feel free and enjoy yourself the ribbon cutting is at 4 I think everyone got an invite right yeah I thought I I might be able to go I'm trying to trying to see if I can make it work but I may not be able to we'll see I think everyone's excited I've been down there every day this week and I can't tell you how many people went through tried to go through the drivethru line I saw coming because I yesterday I was like I could see people thinking about pulling in there like as I was driving down and then today I saw the coming soon I was like that was probably bu yeah yeah so you know the building's going to open Starbucks is excited I think everyone's excited um there's a couple site issues that have to be worked out and they are going to be worked out um but uh just want to give everyone the heads up on that okay so update on 100 Chestnut Street I don't know when it was it was hot all I remember is that y but uh Peter and I met with the architect and the developer there's a few people from the development team there out at the site um because Peter and I were there earlier and I noticed um things that were different on the approved drawings and on the building right none of it was that big but I was just I had questions right and it it's important to remember that when projects go through they're not even 50% done like they're a fraction of the design done you know at that point so this is a you know pretty normal thing like I said I don't think most people would even notice them but I have the drawings in front of me and I did so I asked questions so we had a meeting out there and we went through some of the things um that had changed and for what reasons sometimes it was in the interior layout of Apartments had to change because of whatever um sometimes it was um a certain business that was asking for a front entry door versus a entry on the side you know things like that so to get um to fill the business slots and so um I asked them U none of it seemed egregious to me none of it seemed out of character with what we had approved but I asked them to take the original drawings put the as it was being built um drawings in the same configuration and call out the things that have changed right call them out so it's very obvious for everybody to see and so they're doing that they're in the process that doing that they called they sent a draft I think there's still some more things I want them to call out on there um I mean a lot of things are just different like you don't have the exact window size when you're because you didn't do your window order yet like when you're putting in the windows right so there's lots of St stuff like that in process um so they will be providing those drawings I think the architect actually said he or someone from his office happy to come could come and explain those changes and what for why the why the changes were done um so I just wanted to give an update on that it's nothing I'm seems to me at as part for the course especially not only in a building that size but in the little buildings I work on this uh 100 chest Street under construction so um uh and full disclosure I realized at that meeting I would not have realized if they had not said it but the architect Matt ver marada and also uh Eric senson from the development team are my former students like I had them apparently about 20 years ago in studio I guess the I guess Matt was trying to figure out during these um presentations if I recognized him I had no idea until this meeting on site was quite embarrassing actually but I had no idea who who they were I mean I've had hundreds if not thousands of students I didn't no way yeah so um anyway but full disclosure for student so it's all your fault anything they M up what's that you're the teacher it's all your fault it could be yeah so these changes that you happen to on like is there again with process a threshold that we should say you shall and like discuss I think we should consider some conditions in our decision that makes it clear that what we consider to be worthy of notification exactly we should think about it I don't know what the answer is like you're like oh it's part of the course because like I would imagine when you make a plan and then you go out and you order the windows they're out of stock what do you do well my expectation is if we actually cared enough to approve a design of a window there are buildings like I'm thinking about the old design that's now gone pre 40b up Main Street there was a lot of interesting detail in that whatever rendering of the break and the in the design of the windows if suddenly those windows were not purchasable and it changes in the size or shape I would consider that to be a big deal me personally I don't I want you to get the one that you presented not the cheaper version that you can now find so I think we as a board need to come to some consensus about what is normal for changes and what's not like yeah maybe the quality on some sort of micro level I don't really care about or a little tree moving you know a few feet maybe I don't care that much but like Shapes of Things locations of things on the building like the Starbucks issue that came up where they put it on the wrong you know they put the little electrical thing in a random location stuff like that to me is a big deal yeah I mean I think that discussion does have to happen because like the electrical panel wasn't a r random location it was like the probably the appropriate location for the project but at 60 at 60% or whatever percentage that the drawing is presented to us as because you can't bring it into full tuition and you know fruition we didn't even know that until somebody walked by noticed no it was me but I mean the Starbucks thing was you too yes great so so maybe we have the Clause called if Trisha walks by the building and notices you you have to come back I don't know what we call this Clause whatever it is we need to think about it I I do and and that's why and that's why I didn't say onsite yeah it's good you know whatever I said no this needs to come before the board like the Board needs to understand these changes I said my personal opinion is that these are these are these are in this this what's been going that probably no one would know them here's the thing what you do is a lot and I appreciate it very much but it's like that's not a fair way for you to function as a chair to have to go check projects out nor is it necessarily okay in my mind that one person is deciding is this good or is this not good is this consistent or not consistent I think we as a board need to figure out the expectation of what that is rather than like oh our chair is going to go check it out what if you can't check out no I I I that's why I'm totally agreeing with that like I'm totally agreeing with that but it's like we'll have to I I will have to figure out what is the um with the understanding that these projects are submitted rightly and correctly not at 100% right like it just can't they can't have to come back for every little it they can't we would be dealing with with one of these buildings every a little thing that's right that's right so how we get to that and how we put it in our conditions and how we it's going to be uh interesting discussion because I don't know what the answer is so just a note I think the developer was forthcoming right and he asked and theoretically it all came out when when we went up I they asked that they and they invite they I've been going up there they said let's come come up and look at the siding colors siding colors are very important to everybody right so obviously I you know having Trish in town I said hey Trish I'm going to the site look at siding colors and then when we were up there looking at the siding colors which were spoton we start to notice a couple tweaks and it wasn't a couple large tweaks it was just you know they go through that design change and so that's where this conversation Sparks from I just want to be clear about that and so going in that reques no I don't think it was I don't think it was I don't think I think someone asked even and they're like we don't splitting so there was a there was a Oh that was there's a commercial space right and so the commercial space um had one door coming through it right and so now um they have two proposed tenants in that one space and so they each tenant wanted their own door their own they both want a front door like no one wants a side door right and so they had a side door proposed which kind of went in under a residential um they're not balcony they did no I think they they didn't want to be uh you know then have to it's false through right like yeah they said there was nothing signed kind of Starbuck is open tomorrow man yeah I mean Saturday sat Amanda's like what else is opening come on come on what am I going to do after I get my coffee so I I think I think it's a it's definitely a valid question about how we how we go forward with this I don't think it's going to be an easy one are very long my children don't sleep can is this under I think it's under administrative matters I mean it's not listed but of the the um 10 to 60 Main Street 40b application have we heard anything I have no no update no that's up at Mass Housing and both both of them yep both of them at Mass housing they have their time they're working within their time frames um and so I have had no communication with Mass housing at this point all right so no upate upate anything else that needs to be discussed besides uh what any update on the mural for the Starbucks not that I know not that I know I know the last artist um that we that they were talking to um um pulled out of the pull pull out of running and decided not to take the job on due to that I didn't know due to I think the whole complexity of uh the tri party contracts and payments and and funding funding too but I think it was more of um everything right this is a project procurement um uh you know I will say this right the idea of putting a mural on a building as a town project on private property it's a lot easier said than done and that's pretty much my takeaway from this entire process um in that now we're back to let's find a muralist that's interested in working with us um to do this project it's too bad I didn't know that all right anything else you ready to clear up some meeting minutes we have first August uh February 1st Mee yeah the February 1 one's an old meeting um obviously it was a long time ago kind of slipped through the Wicket so I would say um this is a zoom meeting that the planning board had with the sustainability committee to discuss the tree bylaws these minutes were kind of borrowed from the sustainability committee as the meetings were already written for that uh the minutes were already written for that meeting obviously and so we were just um we put it on uh put it on on plany board letterhead and kind of put everything together so I think there's a there's a couple things that I don't really understand what comment I was actually making um I had the same reaction to mine because I was like what the hell do they think I said yeah I don't I don't understand I don't know how to make it better yeah well the only one that I the only exactly the one that matters to me it um is um on line 73 because that's the one I do remember it says Miss Kendall says she does not believe that anyone town is against trees true but when confronted with trees or an expanding town and I think I specifically said when I said when confronted with trees or a new town you know I I think it said the YMCA frankly um but it could be like a a new a new town amenity you know we could say something like that but I think I was comparing the trees to the YMCA you know then you might make a different choice I think that's what I was I would say a new town amenity okay and that's the same thing later in this this residents might favor the new amenity over the trees or something like that um because I don't think the students or that I don't think residents would just vote for an expanding town instead of trees that seems uh not true okay that was my only one what's that proposal to anex part of hopon to expand the town oh right we need more space I'll mention that to the comprehensive plan committee the planning board suggested we are so smart annexation are we good should I make a motion was again I'm good if um I make a motion to accept the February 1st 2024 minutes as amended at the meeting I'll second it R vot an tman cther Jersey guy oh um yeah Amanda ha ey and Trisha Kendall ey so then now we're at the June 18th meetings these were about this is the zoom meeting the online Zoom meeting when we came up with a letter when we finalized the letter for the 61 Waverly Street 40b okay right um just a I think this is correct but Wildwood Zone D multif family there's a height limit of five stories for residential commercial together is that right okay it's under my comment but I don't remember that I made that comment so it was probably just uh I'm not sure maybe I did because I was looking at the zoning at that time but I can't remember yep are these still generated by a person or or by AI a person great I've never been quoted so much before [Laughter] I'm I'm good with these so am I I'll make a motion to approve the June 18th meetings as is if if you guys are good with them I just made that conclusion based on their based on the silence second second okay roll call vote an testes I Katherine Jersey guy Amanda ha I and Trish Kendall I and now we're on to June 20 I was noted the June 20th can someone remind me do I vote for these I don't think you can I don't think I can I so I'm at this one I was not that's fine but I was not at the June 20th so oh it's fine so June 20th okay yeah so that's when we where the hell we do we approve approved six Chestnut and uh 151 correct the five station oh yes and we finished the letter for 61 I mean and we six we finished a 40b letter holy cow that was a that was a big meeting all it's painful just to look at it oh and a lot release that's right okay I think I'm good as as is I make a motion that we accept the June 2024 minutes as presented is there a second I guess I guess I can second right I will second and I guess Amanda could too because you were there but a roll second Catherine Jers gu Amanda ey and ey so those are oh sorry I completely space that you could not yeah you're good that's right five is five I mean three covers Us okay M um I'll make a motion to adjourn unless we have something else uh just one thing um August 8th planning board meeting I said I am not here I am traveling Amanda say she might be able to come on she's also traveling so um to I was going to come on if they needed it for that for that decision yeah I don't think I can get on at all um so Anna that means you're on unless uh as chair unless sure someone else wants to I'm just going to check on Marcelo Marcelo I'm going to check with Marcelo with his attendance because I know he's traveling uh he said so if if Trisha and Marcel are out we can't hold a meeting right no you still have AUM oh we have de can be there right you checked with her I can check with her I thought there was a meeting in August she couldn't make my imagin I'm it's on my calendar in my office but um I'll send out an email just to double check with everybody yeah but let me know if you need me to chair it I'll chair it okay and I will be getting this MBTA stuff to everybody because I want it I want you to be able to study it and you know with plenty of time so my only thing is the very last week of August the week of the 26th or whatever is the week I'm taking my daughter to college so I'm useless that week so if you guys have if if we're doing something MBTA related or whatever or planning board related that's the week that I'm useless so you'll be at the meeting oh 22nd I can do the week after I cannot okay there's okay so there's there's there's five Thursdays in August there's the so we're going to meet on the 8th and the 22nd perfect that I can do and so you're out the week of the 26th which is the 26 to the 31st and so I I assume Labor day is going to be on the 2 the second yes okay gotcha and then we're going to come back after Labor Day that Wednesday is going to be that meeting with the okay so that's fine okay I feel like didn't know something new was going to come up if something new is is this point I think right now not so much okay I think that's going to be a week that's going to be that's going to be a week Labor Day week where everyone's going to enjoy the last stuff week of Summer and okay I'm assuming we're going to stay [Music] room so sorry to hear that I'm assuming we're going to continue hybrid in the fall the state still allows us to do that and all that I assume since we are the only board besides the school committee and likey board that are meeting in person everyone else is still hybrid which is allowed till 20 through 26 I believe that we will just keep things going the way they are all right so we had we we adjourned toj I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:31 p.m. second roll call vote and I Katherine Jersey guy Amanda ha I and TR k i thanks everybody e e for

meeting ended at 5:20 p.m. items of discussion was trip coverage during the HSA booster club meeting concerns were raised about busing issues District buses often need to return early to transport students home causing disruptions to address this the finance committee is exploring the option of hiring outside bus services for field trips that require longdistance travel this solution aims to ensure timely and efficient transportation for students while minimizing the impact on regular bus schedules this will be examined on a case-by Case basis determined by Administration the other thing was a referendum plaque which is essentially what we described in the facilities minutes almost verbatim does anybody have any questions okay thank thank you commissioner Rak um I'll do the next one since it's a a special ad hoc committee it's called the naming committee um we had a meeting on July 11th in attendance were commissioner Santiago commissioner bassford myself uh a student high school student uh vice principal Mr Chris Keegan uh a faculty member of CHS uh Miss uh Ibrahim uh and Mr uh mallei our athletic director in an advisory role in attendance from Administration was uh Mr shahada uh the discussion was the a request we received to consider naming the track at the stadium after our current track coach um Mr pones uh the discussion the committee met to discuss the proposal to name the track at Christopher Columbus Middle School after coach John pones the committee reviewed coach P's significant contri contributions to the school and the community the community the committee members expressed their support for the proposal noting the positive impact of Coach Pony on students uh a decision was made commissioner bassford made a motion and it was seconded by commissioner Santiago to move the item from committee uh the committee voted with a majority in favor of the proposal contingent on the vetting of the accolades and record listed in coach pont's resume our next steps the committee uh will prepare the necessary documentation which is a letter from myself to the superintendent and the board SE secretary for review that has been done um and if the superintendent agrees with our recommendation he will forward it to the full board here for input discussion and final approval any questions okay thank you um and lastly uh our policy committee met commissioner Suarez please could you read the minutes thank you president Paris the policy met a policy committee met on July 17th um president was myself commissioner Mahia commissioner kova and president Paris the administra the administrators uh who attended were Mr shahada and Miss Maggie Miller the meeting started at 400 p.m.

and it ended at 4:39 p.m. items of discussion use of school facilities Mr shahada drafted an addendum to the current policy in place to ensure the district is covered this addendum addresses the following areas political advertisements use of school facilities for political advertisements or activities is strictly prohibited safety compliance users must follow District safety protocols failure to comply can result in event termination and denial of future use damage and cleanup users are responsible for damage and cleanup a security deposit may be required and refunded after inspection noise and disturbance noise levels must comply with District policy disturbances can result in event termination event approval and monitoring the district May monitor events for compliance an on-site Representatives cost will be borne by the user revocation of per permission the district can revoke facility use permission if policies are violated or if facilities are needed for school purposes sponsors will be disclosed during the application process a sponsor is defined in the policy item two facility naming policy Mr shahada drafted an addendum to the current policy in place this addendum addresses the following areas Personnel matters Personnel matters of those under consideration will be discussed after the student Representatives leave the m meeting the board reserves the right to remove any individual who commits an infraction deemed by the board to be of poor or moral standing item three excuse me PTO policy the administration received a policy from a neighboring District that details the collaboration between a school district and the local parent teacher organization this policy outlines strict protocols and procedures for Effective partnership the committee will continue to discuss and review this policy to determine its applicability and potential imp implementation within our district in addition a majority of the sample policy is already in place item number four student dress code K through2 update Mr jenl is actively collaborating with various stakeholders and is diligently working to gather insights in best practices he is currently in the process of organizing meetings with representatives from other school districts to explore and understand successful strategies and initiatives that have been effective in enhancing education for lower level grades this comprehensive approach aims to identify and Implement proven methods to improve the learning experience and outcomes for our younger students are there any questions yeah I have a question regarding um use of facility um I would like to make a um a a recommendation that or a suggestion that when we take uh when we take a application and because I remember doing this years ago and we had to show proof of our 501c3 status on the application actually be submitted are you guys doing that now we are working out um a method where the PTO specifically are going to have to prove to us that you know once a year they're going to have to submit their documentation to us showing that they're still in compliance with whatever the 501c3 uh guidelines are okay because um it's actually under the code 51a uh the IRS code um anybody that is a officer in an organization can request a document that actually shows their status and print it out on their computer you and I if we all of us if we weren't an officer in that business we could not request that but the actual officers on that are listed under the guidelines of the 501 CA code would be able to supply that my recommendation is to have that supplied with the documentation because it takes the burden off you guys for actually doing cuz you can find it with a very simple search there's a couple places um even an iBot you can ask them if a if an organization is a 501c3 or 4 or whatever it is under the 5018 code it'll come up like that but you want that document from the IRS because if you have people that are using our facilities and they get a waved fee it's fair but I don't think it's fair that we're waving fees for people that aren't actually a 501c certified by the IRS code also that gives us the opportunity to know that donations are going to them can be written off by people that actually donate to them so you know because if you donate to an organization and they're not really certified or on the list of 501 the a code you can't write that off on your taxes so that was my concern and my concern is about um um garnering garnering revenue for the district like you know I can come up to you and say I'm a 501c3 how do you know unless we're given that thing so that was my concern specifically for the pto's once a year they're going to have to submit it to us because once get it you're kind of in compliance for the year so we're going to be drafting something Magan I is when we discuss so the new form is in circulation currently has nothing to do with that but for any other organization that is not a PTO uh they're going to have to submit it on you know On Demand right because we we we do have a vendor that we we partner with to do for the wrestling um and it's great but like I've I've been on this board for 13 years I'm still trying to find out what the wrestling team gets from that organization and I know you have the information that's another thing for another day for another committee but I just any less burdened for your office after all the debacles that we've been going through will help you out um it just takes a search and but that organization should be able to prove the burden on them that it's got to be their role it's got to be their role so like I said we will have a letter going out um Maggie and I are working on it I'm going to send it out to all the HSA whoever I can get in contact from the hsas I'll send it to the principal so they can forward as well they have better contact information and the board will see a copy of the letter as well and one other thing I spoke to Danny and length on this whole subject on the HSA booster club meetings because we're going to try to break free and let the HSA have their own time and the booster club have their own time for the for the booster the hsas that are need help we were going to try to uh petition to the older more established hsas to give them a hand and like if anybody from or the administration can help them steer them in the right direction on what they to do because a lot of times we get a rollover all the time of brand new parents on those hsas that don't know what they need to do so that was one of the suggestions I came up with Danny but you know so when we meet Mark I guess and talk about it all right thank you thank you anyone else question president Mion Santiago so um on the PTO so you're saying Mr shahada that you guys are working on something to ask the pto's I just want to understand why we're asking them if you're to prove that you are 5013c is that what we are asking them correct so um and as practice by the board is that we do not collect a fee for the use of facilities for nonprofits right um you know we're under the impression that all hsas PTO ptas what whatever they want to be called nowadays um are nonprofits we've had some debacles as Miss bassford said so we're going to try to streamline the process and ensure that everybody isn't if they not you know Maggie Miss Miller will be drafting a letter that if we do not get this you're going to be charged the fee you still use the building but whatever the cost is for that facility that's you're printing will be you'll be charged for it great great so it's because we are waving a fee and you will prove that you're 5013c and we will wave it correct but if you're not you're going to get charged a fee correct but you're still using the facility we are not declining your usage of the facility so this is all so whether you're 5013 or not you still are going to use it potentially so long as you're within our policy within the guidelines of our policy it's just that we're not going to charge you for exactly right um great do we have any idea how many of our HR H hsas pto's are you don't have to know but I would assume most of them are not a 5013c potentially or or do we know I would say a good majority 80% I would bet good money on that that there are in compliance in our 5013 C's that are currently active Okay so either they're going to go take on the burden of becoming a 5013c if they want the fee waved but I'm just thinking like we're going to now potentially those that are not 5013 C's which maybe you're saying that number they're either going to go out there or they're not going to do it and they're just going to pay the fee and still use the facility so there is nothing in our policy that specifically outlines that nonprofits are exempt from a fee uh I can make the recommendation to the board to the facilities committee on a caseby Case basis um obviously it's much easier if they just are 501c3 so I can kind of just skip all that and put on the agenda but you know the board is very generous and accommodating so I'm pretty sure if I do make that request on a you know on a semi-regular basis you guys would comply with that request yeah and and just to be clear we we we have no requirement that the PTO must be a 5013c no we're just doing this because of waving a fear or not the generosity of okay thank [Music] you yes commissioner I was going to say I agree with Miss bassford what she mentioned before when I was working in the University setting we were a nonprofit in order to attend some college fairs we would have to submit that we are a 501c3 um as well as our insurance and all that that way we wouldn't have to pay the extra tax on it so I think it's a great idea not just pto's in general so that's all I want to say thank you yeah M BR yeah thank you Mr President if if they if they if they are not a 501c3 you know if there's somebody who would be willing you know to to assist them with with getting that certification or whatever I don't know what it costs to to do that it's 75 for the state of New Jersey the IRS it's free yeah I can I'm I'm sure they would reach out if they don't have uh knowledge on how to go about that right I'd connect them with Miss bassford I connect them with another HSA president who's in compliance with the 501c3 guidelines thank you um M Mr Paris the reason why I brought this up is because it's just like special education versus um general education what you offer one you have to offer the other if we're offering these wave fees for certain individuals and we're assuming that everybody's compliant if we had a company uh say Mr brunak was a a company came in and he says I'm I'm nonprofit and he's really not and somebody else got win that we did that we could be putting ourselves at liability we're just trying to clean out we're trying to clean up our books and make everything Fair that's what that was my role with this from the very beginning when I brought it up to people but um there's on the HSA committee there's a really group of really nice PE a great group of dedicated people and they have been reaching out from um Miss Patrick developed this Google Calendar and this shared they have an actual entity where they talk to each other like a a chat they've been helping each other out and it's been very very collaborative and very um therapeutic I mean they're really helping each other out so I'm sure if like we got on one of our HSA meetings and we said you know somebody raise their hand I need help they will jump in and they'll show them what to do so it's it's it's a really group good group of people but the problem is the rollover when you get a new group in the old group does the new group doesn't know what the old group did and that's the problem very good thank you anyone else okay um again we're going a little bit out of order here but uh assistant superintendent jagaro will'll make some comments before we move on to some voting thank you president Paris uh for this month's superintendent report we'd like to start with an update on the summer enrichment in academic programs I'd like to say that Clifton schools are bustling with activity and and creativity especially highlighted by the IC program summer uh IC summer program held at school 3 this year just this morning at the newly renovated School 3 Auditorium our students delivered an outstanding performance to the musical Finding Nemo showcasing their talents with Grace and enthusiasm from the band to the string to the ukulele ensembles their dedication and skills were truly impressive each summer it's remarkable to witness the incredible achievements of our students and staff in such a brief period of time and this year was no exception so in the spirit of Show Business heartfelt Bravo goes out to all that contributed today's performance in this year's program at our elementary schools including School 17 School 4 and the 12 Annex uh we're currently offering programs such as Jump Start program for Rising kindergarteners Title One enrichment programs for ELA math and stem and title three ESL classes uh this August School 17 will also be hosting a writing camp for Middle School age students uh this summer at Clifton High School uh the summer programs include a Middle School academic Academy and title 3 ESL support for grades 6 to 12 project atalante a college readiness and dual enrollment program for Spanish-speaking elll students occurs daily at Kan University and will actually be continuing throughout the course of the school year our special education students are supported through the extended school year or esy program at school 16 and cabb and we actually provide our students with virtual options uh that include a student accelerated academic summer uh support and high intensity tutoring for grades 3 through five a credit recovery program for students in grades 6 through 12 in partnership with the northern region Educational Services Commission at an upcoming board meeting uh facilitated by Janina cus our assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction we will have the opportunity to experience presentations that that highlight a range of these programs showcasing the impressive learning and enjoyment of our students over the summer moving on to Athletics in the marching band uh starting with Athletics our summer season and session is in full swing coaches have been running our camps clinics competing in leagues uh they've also been utilizing our new stadium wait room for strength and conditioning sessions uh we are about to come into what's called a no contact period known as the blackout period it's scheduled from August 3rd to August 11th and during this time no athletic activities are to take place what this does it provides our both our student athletes and our coaches with a well-deserved time off during the summer but immediately following the blackout period simply put it it's game on our football and girls tennis team will begin on August 12th and our cross country gymnastics boys and girls soccer teams and girls volleyball teams will start competing and practicing on August 19th what we're most excited about with Athletics is we wanted to share the fact that over 500 physicals uh were processed this summer just reflecting the strong interest and importance of Athletics here in our one clipton Community moving on to the marching band we like to say the members of the show band of the Northeast are looking forward to getting started with band camp kicking off on Monday August 19th in addition to performing at football games uh this upcoming season highlights will include a per performing at the athenia Business Association Street Fair on Sunday September 15th uh participating in the Clifton Halloween parade on Sunday the October 27th the north Jersey band festival at Clifton Stadium on also on Sunday October 27th uh West Milford tattoo on Saturday November 19th the clipton Veterans Day Parade on Sunday November 10th and a performance under the lights on Wednesday November 27th uh we look forward to the upcoming season and wish director snki and the the marching band as well as all the coaches and student athletes the best of luck this season and we will definitely all be there to support you speaking about sports and a little bit of world news one of my own personal uh personal favorite topics uh tomorrow is the start of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Paris right uh here close to 11,000 athletes representing 206 countries compete in 329 events and 32 Sports over a 19-day period uh what I found to be uh somewhat entertaining this year is the fact that Opening Ceremonies do take place on the 26th featuring a torch Bearer who epitomizes the spirit of athletic competition and instantly brings to mind the excitement of the Olympics it's the one the only Snoop Dog I just found that to be interesting for the Summer Olympics and wanted to share that fun fact with our committee but I do encourage everybody to take some time to watch this incredible athletic spectacle and and truthfully take the time to share in the joy as these World Club athletes stand on the podium get the medals presented to them that they've worked so incredibly hard for and and above all else listen to their national anthems played for all the year and finally and I'm saving the best for last I'm I'm pleased to share some exciting news with our community on July 16th in a private and dignified ceremony Mr ammed shahada our esteemed assistant superintendent of business was officially appointed to the State Board of Education Amed secured what is referred to as a senatorial courtesy where senators in his County had had to endorse his nomination before it actually proceeds to the Judiciary Committee on June 28th he interviewed and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was confirmed by the state senate later that day typically a process like this can take months or or even a full year uh this was an extremely accelerated process and highlights the ties that he has in Trenton ahed is not only the youngest current member of the State Board of Education but also as the youngest to ever serve in this capacity uh we are immensely proud of this significant milestone in his career and are grateful to have a representative from Clifton serving in Trenton this prestigious appointment is a testament to amed's exceptional dedication expertise and unwavering commitment to advancing educational standards within the state as a member of the State Board of Education AED will play a crucial role in shaping policies and initiatives that will impact schools and students most importantly across New Jersey so please join me in congratulating oned in this remarkable [Applause] achievement we are no we we are confident that your leadership and your vision will contribute significantly to the future of Education in our state and that concludes this month's superintendence report um in the tradition I've seem to start this meeting with we're going to again jump a little bit around we're going to vote next on uh Personnel the items under Personnel that's under B and the items are numbered one through 45 45 so I'm looking for a motion to approve motion second okay motion to approve by uh commissioner brunak second by commissioner Suarez Mr shahada roll call oh discussion anyone sorry saying none roll call please miss bassford yes I abstain on P38 and P39 my name only Mr brunak yes P except P38 abstaining my name only Mr Mia yes substain on P38 my name only M Santiago yes substain on P3 8939 uh missano yes abstaining on P38 P39 my name only miss Warz yes abstaining on P38 and P39 my name and Amed Shahara vice president Danny yes abstaining um on P38 and P39 my name only President Paris yes abstaining on 38 and my name only on 38 and 39 motion carries thank you congratulations to our current our new interim superintendent Mr Mark [Applause] Jenaro that's one of the re that's why we uh changed the voting order here a bit uh we wanted Mr Jenaro to get right into his role we're very fortunate that in Dr Roberto's absence we have such a competent assistant superintendent that can jump in and continue the great work that Administration and this board does and uh like to turn it over to you for some comments at this point Thank You president parison the Board of Education I'm going to keep the first part of of this brief as the focus following the recent passing of personnel really should not be on me but I do need to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Dr Rober toi for recommending me and of course our Board of Education Commissioners for approving my role as Acting Superintendent in in his absence additionally I extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire one clipton Learning Community for their trust their support and confidence in me I am honored to temporarily step into this vital role and serve our district to the best of my ability I'd also like to thank everyone who has reached out to extend their congratulations and well- wishes your support has been greatly appreciated in this time but the best part of all of this has been that common theme echoed throughout all these communications and that quote we are here to support you in whatever you need and that just truly that that that type of support truly embodies our Mantra of one Clifton but really where the focus for tonight should be right now is on the individuals were just appointed as an acting principal assistant principles and administrative interns and they've put in the grind to achieve their goals in in obtaining these administrative positions I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate Megan Fitzpatrick Karina Vega Andrew Rosado Nicole petrala Anthony luzy and uh Courtney on their appointments to assistant principal and administrative intern as well as Mr tus Patrician who has been appointed to the acting principal role at school 15 14 14 I'm sorry I'm sorry Dr baton Walker I saw the the glare from the back what I'd like to also highlight is that all seven of these newly appointed team members have been what we affectionally refer to as Cadets in our administrators Academy and they've been cadets for the past two years one of which continue to attend those Academy trainings even while being out during a a maternity leave for those of you who don't know the administrators Academy is our in-house training and professional development opportunity for our current and aspiring administrators uh this platform provides participants with the Essential Knowledge and Skills about policies laws procedures necessary to serve in administrative roles uh through the academy Cadets gain insight to the inner workings of the district as well as information specific to State and and federal mandates I'm even further pleased to announce that over the past 2 years 11 out of the 13 administrative positions including acting principles assistant principales supervisors and admin interns have been filled by Academy Cadets with an additional Tu cets earning administrative positions in other districts specific to the success of this initiative simply put I'd say the the proof is in the pudding uh we would like to thank the Board of Education and Dr roboy for their support of admin Academy as well as all the presenters who generously share their knowledge and expertise with the cadets but what we have here with us this evening are three of the four newly appointed assistant principles Miss Megan Fitzpatrick who will be assigned to school 14 Miss Karina Vega who will be assigned to school 12 Miss Nicole patala who will be assigned to the ca be building and Mr terce patrian again who will be appointed to the acting principal at School 14 uh Mr Rosado who will be assigned to school number 13 will speak at next month's meeting as he's currently on a family vacation at Disney uh what we thought would have been fun for him to call in remotely from Star Wars Galaxy Edge and Hollywood Studios preferably with the Millennium fulcon in the background we decided to give him the night off to enjoy some family time so again to our seven new administrative team members congratulations we are so very proud of you and at this time I'd like to invite uh any of you to come up and say a few words to the Board of Education good evening Mr Jenaro president Paris vice president Dr Dany and Commissioners I am deeply honored and humble to accept the position of interm assistant principal of CA B I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the board and the administration for this incredible opportunity your trust and confidence in me mean the World Clifton has been my professional home for the past 21 years and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities it has afforded me I have had the privilege of teaching BSI as well as first second and third grade and for the past 5 years serving as an elementary language arts literacy coach each role has enriched my career and allowed me to grow as an educator I am also profoundly grateful for my unwavering support of my family my husband and I are both graduates of Clifton High School class of 1998 and 1999 and it's a joy to see our children following in our footsteps with our oldest Jacob set to graduate in 2028 our middle child Patrick in 2029 and our youngest Nicholas in the class of 2036 a special thank you to my supervisor for the past 5 years Dr cropac for your guidance and mentorship your support has been instrumental in my journey and I will be forever thankful for you to the literacy team AKA The Literacy Buzz working with all of you has been an absolute pleasure your dedication passion and teamwork have made a significant impact on our students literacy development and I am beyond grateful for each of you thank you to my building principal Mrs zagorski your guidance and support throughout the years have been invaluable I would also like to take the moment to congratulate Mr shahada on his appointment to the State Board of Education this is a tremendous achievement and we are all proud to have you representing our community at the state level I would like to extend my prayers and well wishes to Dr razi on a speedy recovery I am excited to embark on the new chapter and look forward to working together to continue fostering a nurturing and dynamic learning environment for our students thank you everyone again and have a wonderful night [Applause] good evening all I wanted to extend my sincerest gratitude to the board president Mr Allan Paris vice president Dr Lucy Dany the board Commissioners superintendent of schools Dr Rober toy and assistant superintendent Mr Jenaro Miss Janina kovich and Mr shahada for appointing me as the assistant principal for school 12 through the program of admin Academy I had the opportunity to be the the administrative intern at school 12 this year I'm pleased to continue my journey as an administrator alongside my admin team Mrs kenning and Miss Ray as I step into this role I'm filled with enthusiasm and a strong commitment to fostering an environment where both students and teachers can Thrive education has always been my passion and I'm excited to collaborate with our dedicated team of Administrators staff parents and Community to support our students growth and success a very special thank you to my parents my husband and my kids or my Vega circus as I like to call them for being my main line of support thank you to my mentor Dr B Walker principal of school 15 for continuously providing authentic support guidance and feedback throughout my time at school 15 and Beyond I may not be a Clifton resident but Clifton has truly become my second home thank you once again for this incredible opportunity I look forward to working with all of you to achieve our shared goals and make meaningful impacts on the lives of our students and school Community thank you very [Applause] much good evening everyone thank you president Paris vice president Danny board Commissioners Dr Rober toy Mr Jenaro Mr shahada Miss Kus levage uh Central Administration and my Clifton colleagues for this distinguished opportunity to serve serve as the assistant principal of school 14 20 years ago I was a senior at Clifton High I'm a Clifton girl born and raised and while that year was the last year I officially wore my Clifton cheerleading uniform I found that during my last 14 years here in the district I still remain one of the biggest Mustang cheerleaders rooting for my students our colleagues and our district through my journey here in Clifton uh during my 12 years working as a self-contained teacher at school n and my time at woodro Wilson Middle school as an in-class support teacher and a Special Olympics coach it has been my greatest passion to continue promoting academic emotional and social successes for our special needs population this last year I was afforded the opportunity to serve as the administrative intern at school one through that experience as well as admin Academy I am eager to enter this next phase of my career at School 14 and to have the opportunity to support our students and staff in a new capacity as well as working out with Mr patrici I to extend my deepest gratitude to my many mentors Through The Years who have guided me through my journey to Administration Mr Orlando Mrs Rosetti Mr Jagger Mr Menin Mrs bro Mrs Romeo our fabulous Central Administration and my supervisors at the special services department thank you to my family especially my parents my brothers and sister-in-laws my grandma who's watching at home hi Graham um and who've supported me and encouraged my dream for becoming a teacher since I was 5 years old uh growing up school school was always a place I felt cared for and supported in large part because of the leadership of my principal and my teachers that I admired since walking into kindergarden leaving them in the dust as I began my educational career I I continue to have that dedicated passion to be that person and have that lasting impact not only now in the school 14 Community but as our Clifton Community as a whole so thank you again for this opportunity I am so eager to get started and continue my journey here in Clifton my home since I was born so thank [Applause] you good evening I'm honored to serve as a acting principal School 14 and thank you for entrusting me with this leadership raw um this going to be my sixth or seventh year uh School 14 and it's all under Jason habitan leadership I want to thank him for his guidance and support and for building the values that are there at School 14 uh it's big shoes to fill I'm confident I'll do well I going to wish him continued success in his next building um but I'm really here for our new vice principal Megan I heard very nice things about her and I'm here on behalf School 14 to welcome her to our new home thank you everybody that's it well thank congratulations and thank you all um okay let me get ourselves back on track here get myself back on track we're going to the adopt the minutes from our last meeting of June 13th 2024 motion to adopt second by commissioner bassford second by commissioner siano uh roll call Mr shihada please M bassford yes yes Mr brunak yes Mr Mia yes Mr Santiago yes siano yes Mr Suarez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries thank you I'm going to hold my comments till the end any unfinished business at this point that we need to discuss okay seeing none uh commissioner bassford could you please read our expression of condolence thank you president Paris just let me get there you go whereas on July 20th 2024 the community noted with sorrow the passing of Lorraine Hall and whereas Miss Hall would had served the Clifton Board of Education and the children of Clifton faithfully and conscientiously for 35 years Miss Hall was a kindergarten teacher at school 5 third and fifth grades at school 4 and fifth grade at school 8 before retiring now therefore be it resolved that this resolution be forwarded to herried family to serve as an in an expression of the great Regard in which Miss Hall has held was held by the Board of Education the Administration Employees and the pupils of the clipton public schools and be it further resolved that the contents of this resolution be noted in its in their entirety in the official minutes of the Clifton Board of Education for future Generations to peruse uh dated July 25th also I just want a side note um it was very nice to see in her obituary that they asked for donations to a different organization and then the other donation was to give uh to the clipton board of education for therapy dogs so thank you very much for your generosity and thinking about a program that helps our children thank you thank you commissioner bassador uh this we'll be moving on to the our public recognition part of our meeting uh this portion of the meeting is open to the residents and non-residents of Clifton for the purpose of addressing any subject matter pertinent to Andor directly related to the operation of the Clifton Public School District residents and non-residents are requested to sign the register provided for this purpose and to State their names addresses and subject matter comments are limited to five minutes per person issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the laws of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by the members of the public members of the public should consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments in addition the Clifton Board of Education wishes to congratulate Mr shahada on his recent appointment to the state New Jersey State Board of Education since becoming a member of the State Board Mr shahada has received a number of phone calls and inquiries regarding state board business or matters that may be before it while while we are pleased to have Mr shahad serve in this important role it is necessary that during regular business hours he devote his time and attention to Clifton Board matters some of you may wish to direct comments and questions to Mr shahad during this public comment portion of our meeting please be reminded that we are here to address Clifton Board of Education matters while you are free to comment on State Board of Education matters please be reminded that all comments must be directed to me as the chair furthermore please understand that Mr shahada is not trying to be rude or evasive however he will not respond to any such comments or questions as his participation in this meeting is as the assistant superintendent of business and board secretary for the Clifton Public School District we appreciate your understanding is there anyone who' like to anyone virtually want virtual motion to close to close commissioner Mahia second by commissioner Santiago um anyone here like to make any comments this evening of course s well good evening I'm l l lman I'm the president of the CE first of all I want to extend our congratulations to Ahmed shahada for a fantastic placement I heard a while ago that this would be happening so I'm very proud of you you'll do wonders for the kids for the state of New Jersey and that's the most important thing so the other thing there's a couple of things so pride and fast grants are now open for all the teachers and pars that are listening so please make sure you contact Martha or rock at school 12 because we have $70,000 to spend so please make sure you contact her set up specific ideas for your grants the next thing is as you know Clifton is involved in the Labor Management collaboration so through njaa and Nea we were invited to California the end of June so I got a beautiful letter from from the California labor Institute so it says Dear laurian team we wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks to you and your team for attending the 2024 California Labor Management initiative summer Institute your presence and active participation were crucial in making this event a resounding success we are immensely proud of the dedication and enthusiasm your team demonstrated throughout the instit your commitment to fostering collaborative relationships and improving educational outcomes is truly inspiring so we're going to take this on the road I'm just letting you know because we are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Labor Management collaboration so I want to thank the board for allowing um the administrators to attend so it was Martha Andrea Rock Dr Danny Rober toy Rachel capy Laura zagorski Ahmad hamda and Michael Texa and myself so I want to thank you again for letting us attend as well as Janina kusal levich sorry Janina all right so we had a great time we brought our information to California and we're farther ahead than California is and they've been doing this for 10 years so we have a great board we have great um administrators we have great teachers professionals that are all involved in this so I can't thank everybody enough for all of their um all of their ideas and solutions to so many issues so thank you again thank you anyone else wish to speak see no one motion to close motion motion by commissioner brunak second second by commissioner Suarez next up is finance and Facilities section c looking for a motion to approve items 1 through 2 I'll make that motion motion by commissioner second by commissioner Mahia any discussion roll call Mr shahad M bassford uh yes and no F10 yes or all no to F10 Mr brunak yes Mr Mia yes Mr Santiago yes missano yes I'm staining on f119 935 Tomahawk promotions because of my business relationship M Wars yes vice president Danny a yes no to F10 president Paris yes motion carries okay next is education Administration section d items one through 26 motion to approve motion motion by commissioner second second by commissioner brunak any discussion Mr Shad roll call please M bassford yes Mr brunak yes everything except ea1 18 no on ea1 18 Mr M yes M Santiago yes Mr siano yes M Warz yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes motion carries thank you um board member comments are next and if my record keeping is cor correct commissioner bassford will be first up hi good evening um thank you very much for everyone that came out tonight it was so it was great to see everybody um here to honor their family member for their academic I mean for their um their promotions it's really good to see some of our Lon students from knowing them from when they were little children to blossom into such a a great employee and dedicated to our children I and I've seen her work on our HSA committee and and just recently doing stuff for the um HSA booster club committee I was really really just happy to see that um I attended the I I program today um to see the string the band and the play Finding Nemo it was just extraordinary the talent that we have in this district is amazing and it was nice to be in a cool redone Auditorium I'm very proud of uh seeing the uh the fruit of the labor for the referendum um cons condolences to um Miss schep and her family on the loss of her mother as as I've come to know her from my children having her in high school but more so with the story she shares at the academic Awards dinner of her mother I felt like I know the woman firsthand and I'm very sorry about your loss to the whole family especially uh the shackle family on the loss of um your your your loved one um my deepest condolences um I'd like to uh congratulate the board of education on the award on the Dual award from the state and the general assembly on that resolution um never in the 13 years that I've sit in these chairs because I've you know moved around a lot alphabetically um that I would ever think that the board become certified so to me that is such a moving Monumental accomplishment um thank you to Dr Rosie boli for honoring me in that way I um when I met you I never knew that our paths would intertwine for the advancement of public education especially with the special education World last but not least that was some disclaimer I awesome and I appreciate everything you do I most ly appreciate the fact that you are going to be shaping the administrative code for the state of New Jersey chapter 14 but mostly chapter 14 6A which is where my passion lies I look forward to great things from you I know you will bring them your communication since you've been sitting in that role has really blown me out of the water you answer me we argue at times we get a little testy with each other but at the end of the day I am so confident that your role here and then down there you'll know how to separate them for that disclaimer I appreciate whoever worked on that in collaboration with you guys and I hope that our community understands that when you're here you're here and you know how to divide that hat and I'm confident that you will divide it but I am so thrilled that chapter 146a will be in your hands and I will be bothering you every day when I see something that I need to quot point you to your attention to so congratulations and serve us all well in the state of New Jersey we are so grateful that we have a voice now at the real table thank you good night commissioner Brak thank you Mr President I want to start off with a prayer for Dr Rober toy oh Lord we surrender ourselves to you and ask for help we cannot guide Dr Rober toy any further you are with Him post surgery today you're our creator and you've breathed life into us please Grant Dr Roberto a successful recover y so that so that he may make it full recovery to continue to glorify you bless the hands of the doctors nurses and their work today and please help them heal Dr Robert toy amen amen amen and I want to express my S sincere congrats to Mr shahada I'm being appointed to the State Board of Education this young man just recently joined our Administration as an assistant ba and a short period of time is now assisted superintendent of business if Dr Robert toy did not believe in Mr Shah's skill set and vision for our district I promise you he would not be here today this is a man of integrity and a high caliber high quality human being I urge everyone who may be concerned of his appointment that they Reserve their judgment until they see his voting record if there's anyone who knows the puls of Art District the most among them is Mr shahada I I believe he will be voting in favor of what is best for the students in Clifton Public Schools congrats again Mr shahada also thank you to the generous Anonymous donation to the school 12 HSA over $188,000 donation to to school 12 HSA and that is a tough tough school and uh I just all the generosity that that people have for this District can't thank you enough finally I'm hoping that all you students out there are enjoying your summer so far thank you for your time and God bless America have a good night everybody Alan I forgot something Dr D get better we need you no no insult I'm but take care of yourself please sorry Comm M um good evening everybody hope everyone's having a great day so far unfortunately I wasn't able to make it down today to watch the plays I ran out of out of days out of vacation day sick days from all the days I've been using throughout the year so unfortunately I wasn't able to attend but hopefully this upcoming once the new year starts in August 1st I get all my days back and I get to attend all these great events again um it's really hard to do all that because you know I'm young I'm working really hard every day and unfortunately I don't have all the time in the world like most of my colleagues to attend all these other events um but thank you either way for the invitations I'd like to congratulate all the fall student athletes who are currently working really hard out in the sun um I was driving past the other day by the stadium and I saw many of them run and I said to myself I remember those days running up and down up and down so tiring um and I wish them the best of luck especially because I know hopefully this year we go as far as we did last year if not farther um I also want to congratulate all of our newly appointed administrators to their positions this up coming year also I like to congratulate Mr shahada as well as getting a position on this year's State Board of Education and funny enough I'd like to also congratulate Mr Jango um in this time where Dr Robert toy he's in the hospital I'm going through some things here and there but you know Mr jenera was my vice principal back in in middle school so for me is really eye opening to be able to work and collaborate with him hand onand um so I wish you the best of luck thank you thank you commissioner Mia uh commissioner Santiago thank you president Paris um yes uh Dr Robert toy continuing to pray for you I'm glad you are on the mend um uh get back soon Mr Jenaro congrats and um we are in capable hands thank you very much for all your efforts and your work Mr shihada congratulations again um awesome job um I just wanted to say congratulations again to all of our graduates last month um and I want to thank all the staff and everybody involved it's a it's a big undertaking but those who coordinate it and those who were involved that day it runs like clockwork it's amazing it's very efficient we have a lot of student 700 or whatever it is and it's like it's like clockwork so um kudos to everybody involved it was really good um just want to say that July is uh Ada pride month and what that uh celebrates and recognizes is the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act um and it just recognizes um it celebrates the rights of those with disabilities as as all of our rights are the same and and celebrates all their their contributions so um happy uh ada8 pride month um thank you to assemblywoman boli for coming and recognizing our our board I really appreciate that thank you very much um congrats to all of our staff who was promoted keep up the good work um oh I knew what it was so uh we also have uh a summer graduation August 9th which I'm really excited about it's the first time we're going to have that so we have a handful if you will of students who you know maybe are one class were one class behind walking couldn't walk but did that work this summer and they passed that class one or two classes and just a month later they get their diploma but they don't have that big celebration so I'm really excited that we're going to give this to those uh students to recognize them cuz um what they still what they did is just as important as what everybody else did a month ago and also to celebrate that with their families so I'm looking forward to that it's August 9th thank you so much good night thank you commissioner s uh siano thank you president Paris I want yeah that's it I want to express How Deeply honored I was to hand out diplomas for the first time to the Clifton High School graduating class of 2024 it was truly a special occasion for everyone it was made even more meaningful to me by presenting diplomas to several individual I've known for a few years grown close to and my cousin uh to the graduates I wish you all the best as you move forward may your time in our district be filled with knowledge experience and fond memories that will serve you well in your future endeavors thank you Mr doctor for your report was very informative and thorough I appreciate you being on top of this and keeping us up to date congrats to the all the staff for the appointments tonight I have nothing but excitement about your roles and look forward to um all of you enhancing our district Judy I was honored to be there with you when you received your recognition that night and I'm honored tonight that I was able to be here for this also it's great to see everything that you're doing being paid uh forward to you I'm grateful to have you really answering all my questions whenever I asked really I'm just grateful to have your friendship so I would like to take a moment to commend Amed shahada I'm not going to be the only one that doesn't do it sir I sworn in to to the state of New Jersey Board of Education in this short time we've known each other you've become a close friend and a reliable resource you always answer my calls and text equipped with the information as if you knew I was going to be calling with those questions uh the state of New Jersey and us are fortunate to have you I believe this is just the beginning of your remarkable journey I really think that you're just destined for greatness in this field Danny Rober toy you are in my thoughts and prayers I'm hoping for your spech recovery but in the meantime even though I don't like his haircut I know Mark jenero is going to do us proud that's all I got for tonight thank you all and have a good night thank you commissioner Suarez thank you president Paris good evening everyone since the last time we came together I had have had the pleasure to see stepping up ceremonies that I did not realize would have me reaching for tissues it was so beautiful to witness the pride of teachers students and parents as they celebrated their not so little mature and progress towards Middle School it was in it also was a sincere pleasure to witness our high school seniors graduate I felt so honored to support the efforts in congratulating them as they proudly walked across the stage I could not stop smiling and congratulations to the summer graduates as well and speaking of smiling this morning my cheek cheeks were hurting from being Amazed by the talent showcased in The Amazing Finding Nemo performance put on by the IC program the musicians were incredible I thought it was such a nice touch to have high school students be teachers assistants to conduct many of the music pieces and to wrap it all up was the funny and entertaining musical Finding Nemo the children were spectacular and it was such a sweet treat to watch thank you to all who made the IC program happen what a treasure for the Clifton Community lastly and certainly not least I would like to express my sincere honor and privilege to have witnessed my colleague friend and partner Mr ammed shahada for being appointed by Governor Murphy to be a member of the New Jersey State Board of Education earlier this year within board meetings on multiple occasions I have shared my appreciation and admiration for clion School District administration because their commitment and dedication to and for our students was so evident to me having our very own assistant superintendent of business being appointed to serve on the state level is further evidence of the commitment and dedication our Administration has for not only our students in Clifton but for public educ as a whole I am honored to serve in this board alongside Mr shahana because I know his heart and mind is geared towards advocating for the well-being of all students in Clifton and all over New Jersey I would like to publicly congratulate Amed shahada for his new role as New Jersey Board of Education member thank you everyone for your time I truly hope that you are all enjoying your summer and I look forward to meeting again next month and my prayers to Dr Robert toy and your speedy recovery thank you everyone thank you uh Comm uh vice president Danny uh so Dr Robert toy definitely speedy recovery um May everything go well uh Mr shahada congratulations I don't want to keep going on with what everybody said but uh definitely have yes continue okay so I I've I've seen you know the level of commitment that you put into this job and your attention to detail and I am sure that on the State Board you will put that 125% 200% and our voices will be heard and I think that that is great for you for Clifton um for just the state uh so congratulations again Mr Jenaro I know that we are in good hands um I've spoken to you a few times and and I know that you really care and you're passionate about the district and so I think that you know you will do great in his absence um Judy we've been on this board for our whole entire year yes yes for our whole entire term of terms together so um and I know personally how helpful you have been um in special education issues um personally for what you've done for my family thank you and um you know it's nice that you were recognized um congratulations to all the newly appointed vice principal and the principal um I sure that um you will do well since you many of you were in the interim position and your guidance that you spoke about those that have helped you um so congratulations again and to all the Clifton School Employees I hope that you are somehow finding a little time even if you are in the building to rest for the teachers for those even students that you're just enjoying the remainder of the summer thank you thank you Dr Danny well it's it's hard to go last and not repeat anything but there are some things worth repeating um one is congratulations to Mr shahada the State Board of Education has gotten an unbelievably competent commissioner to to represent well I know you represent more than us but you're one of ours so we feel we we feel you're you're on the team but um congratulations to you it's it's an amazing accomplishment um the youngest board member in the history of New Jersey that's absolutely amazing well I wish you all the best and success in that role um congratulations to all our new administrators and thank you for stepping up for our kids um condolences to the shm and whole families on your losses um congratulations to the staff and student helpers that were responsible really for the result of this IC program that we witnessed today the result was amazing the kids were amazing The talent's Amazing um my granddaughter was a participant uh she's a little one she wasn't in the the Musical part but she she absolutely loved science and music and the Arts every day uh it's a fantastic program and um wouldn't be possible without the wonderful staff and student helpers that are a part of it uh to Mr Jenaro I like your haircut thank you congratulations and thank you for stepping up and being able to take us through this time uh you got some big shoes to fill literally and figuratively um but we really appreciate you taking on this responsibility and helping us and last but not at least to Dr Robert toy I hope he isn't seeing this right now um but if he is who have you ever yeah if he is or if he plays it back at some point uh just want him to to know all the care and love that we have for him we miss him greatly um we wish him the speediest recovery and uh but take your time get it done right and uh come back and will be stronger than ever okay that's all I have uh new business would be next if there's any new business I have a question about the graduation um because I have to adjust my work schedule uh 10 how long you think it will take uh I would venture no more than an hour okay the big one is done in like minutes so we should be either get in early or stay late but I can make up my time thank you any any other business comments okay seeing none we'll move to uh executive session at this point we do have a number of issues that are Personnel issues um action will be taken and it should take approximately 30 minutes we should be back and I do I need a motion to motion to uh executive session by commissioner brunak seconded by commissioner Sian Mr 10 minute five minute break five minute break sure e e e what's up conratulations thanks I appreciate it year students orinal and without [Music] chy NY [Applause] h know [Music] by a popular artist so this was one of our groups with our older kids in middle school and they didn't really we wrot a lot of songs together but they really really want so I was like I love them and we have a little surprise we have two singers in this class and AC of featuring and [Music] you [Music] yeah he was what was you [Music] you [Music] heart [Music] I you [Music] each [Music] [Applause] I have to say my favorite part about that Group performing that song you probably don't realize it but that's set of that we usually but we had two or three students and I found this I Tau myself the glass and it and like of course they really just completely wowed me in like this second week just teaching themselves all of these on the [Music] instrument I'm going set up next gr we [Music] have get start [Music] St trouble okay e like so our last song before we came off with our Str group our second hotong writer and this song is very special I as do so we wrote a song about IC uh it's kind of like our song Rocket I hi chewy [Music] and [Music] conat [Music] youil [Music] I am [Music] [Applause] learning e department has to offer eved an emergency to the front view of the a at this time we all elect devices as and performers on stage if you need to leave the please toam we thank you again for supporting our program on the of students te enjoy the show good morning everybody how are we here today you are in hey Mark Mr Mecca being reported yet you are it'll be on our meeting 3 through eight ex yep what is that got to do that first are we are we ready to go yeah Mark okay okay we're back uh roll call Mr shahada M bassford here Mr brunak here kova Mr Mia here M Santiago here M Tiano here Mr Warz here vice president Danny here president president Paris here we have a quorum okay um we're back from executive session uh would like to make a motion to approve under executive session items number two through 8 motion motion to approve by commissioner Suarez I'll second second by commissioner bassford any discussion okay roll call Mr shod M bassford yes Mr brunak yes from here yes Santiago yes obain on ex8 M siano yes Marez yes vice president Danny yes president Paris yes abstain on ex8 also motion carries okay motion to adjourn Mo second motion by everybody second by everybody have a good see you next month meeting uh the 22 what

e e hold e hello Miss Hendrick hi Ben how are you I am doing the best that I can it's Monday I'm doing good I didn't recognize you you you're you haven't shaved yeah right I just got out of another meeting I um well let me just join anyway well hopefully they start popping in shortly I know a couple of people said they were going to call in oh really oh yeah yeah that's right okay um I think sorry I can't get my camera working I don't know how to do that because right now you know I have a a a camera on my desk that works but then when I'm by my because I'm working at home today I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon oh oh oh but when I do it here see I can't get it on it's dark I don't know I don't know I have to check with it on that but do I do I need to be on screen no okay I can verify that um that's your voice okay is is thata is that your backup yeah so she's going to be uh running this one oh okay not exactly running it but just calling for roll and and votes so she can kind of get some kind of experience uh and I hopefully this is a short one so I don't have to put a lot of pressure on her okay uh we met earlier this morning just to go over it and just fine tune just to make everything go easy easier faster e e e I think Kathy should I don't know are you okay with that Kathy uh yeah we can start so go ahead and call the meeting to order 12 o'clock July 29th um turn it over to Ben for roll call I I will leave it to miss Gil Martin to do the roll call and the and the taking of the notes today Miss Martin you want to call roll hear her Ben can you speak up into the mic yes and okay um we have a quorum routine business number two a approval of the July 29th 24 special board meeting agenda don't move second syvia second by anamarie Sena all those in favor what motion carries okay number three consent agenda motion to approve there'll be a motion Anar what's up motion carries thank you everyone One Moment One Moment you have to Jour meeting can we get a motion sopia [Music] all those in favor I I thank you ladies and have a good day by guys3 motion bye bye bye bye

e e e welcome everyone to the regular business meeting of the board of school trustees held in public here on July 29th 2024 um item one will be uh item two 1.02 the Pledge of Allegiance so if anyone could please rise Miss Bas will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance then a moment of silence iedge alance to of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you item two tonight patrons comments uh there are being none we will move on to item three our consent agenda Dr Terrell we do have just to let you know Mr babj had another commitment this evening Mr Smith is on Via virtual uh so uh Mr Smith is in attendance via his phone um so with that we'll move on to item three the consent agenda Dr Terell thank you for your consideration this evening we have 3.01 the executive session minutes uh from 6:24 the regular business meeting minutes from 6:24 and our uh special work session from 7:17 we also have uh 3.02 the Personnel agenda uh 3.3 recommendation for employment of candidates and then 3.04 our voucher registered checks as listed you've heard the recommendation of the administ you've heard the recommendation of the administration uh may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda a motion by m Basin second by Mr Vasser question or discussion is is there anything left to be filled before school begins we are still working on some PA of professionals here for certain and I think one exceptional education teacher trying to close the I'm sorry I didn't C scared to touch this thing right now I'm sorry some Paras and okay thank you thank you all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries three z uh four action items our first action item is 4.01 donation from Crownpoint community Foundation Mr G fery uh thank you Mr President as you know uh in the past the crowno Community Foundation has been a staunch supporter of our school system and uh giving us different grants but most of those grants have come in the line of individual grants that teachers kind of put in uh this year they approached us with a different uh proposition of supporting the school in um just startup programming or programs that they could fund which would affect uh in a more efficient as many students as possible so a list was generated through our Administration uh central office and building level Administration and the Crownpoint Community Foundation has donated $28,000 for the following programs and Elementary stem programs for startup materials of $15,000 the 18 to 22 year old programming for sensory and adaptive equipment for $8,000 and uh for our preschool program for gross motor and literly supports at 5 ,000 for a total of $28,000 Min the administration recommends the acceptance of this $28,000 donation from the Crownpoint Community Foundation you've heard the recommendation of the administration for the acceptance of the $28,000 donation from the Crownpoint Community Foundation to support cpoint School Corporation educational programming including the elementary stem programs the 18 to 22 year old programming sensory and adaptive equipment and the preschool gross motor and literacy support may I have a motion motion motion by Mr Vasser second by Miss Basin question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 30-0 thank you 4.02 Transportation student handbook revisions and adoption and additions approval Mr Kiwa yeah thank you Mr President and board members um much like the student handbooks that were approved a short time ago uh the Crownpoint Community School Corporation transportation department needed to update its student handbook uh this ends up getting posted online as well um the changes are relatively minor I mean it's just Mr Freeman's name is added some contact information I think there was one spelling error that was corrected in there as well um but because of the Simplicity of this book rolling from last year to this year we'd like to wave the reading of the handbook and approve the handbook uh with the suggested uh adjustments um and additions you've heard the recommendation of the administration for the approval of the uh handbook and suggested additions and adjustments along with the waving of the reading of that handbook may have a motion second motion by Miss Basin second by Mr Vasser question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 30 z uh 4.03 uh the CeX is how I said that cix cix thank you for the correction cix agreement Mr Reese thank you Mr President members of the board tonight before we bring before you a five-year agreement with cix uh this agreement will cover the one-time cost for installation and also uh the fiveyear annual uh call it membership or Services cost for that uh the onetime costs are 89,50 th000 the ongoing costs approximately 95,00 700 that we paid for from the operations fund we recommend approval of the fiveyear agreement with cix for Safety and Security response system you've heard the recommendation of the administration for the approval of agreement with cix for Safety and Security response system may have a motion motion second motion by Mr Vasser second by Miss Basin question or discussion I would just like to state after seeing a presentation this evening on what cix has to offer it is nothing but literally brain decision to add this to our ongoing need uh and uh protecting our students on a daily basis and along with our staff and faculty and uh this is a top-of-the-line model that I could tell you will do nothing but enhance that opportunity to keep our employees and our students safe any other questions all those in favor please signify by saying I I I those opposed motion carries 30-0 thank you 4.04 maintenance and repair agreement with with the city of Crown Point Mr ree thank you Mr President as you're all aware we entered into an agreement with the city in regarding the construction of what on the first floor is going to be some storage and Concession area for Colonel wheeler Middle School on the top second floor is going to be a space for locker room and some official if you will space uh for the Bulldog Park Recreation Area um as part of that agreement we agreed to come up with a maintenance agreement on how we handle the upkeep and care for that facility as being a standalone unit we maintain control and ownership of the building and then we'll build the city on a quarterly basis for the care and upkeep for that facility to give you a general think about it is the space that's theirs they're going to take care of the space that's ours we're going to take care of the joint spaces say like the roof which would be for both parties uh will be shared cost between the two uh so with that we're recommending approval of the maintenance and repair agreement with the city of Crown Point thank you you heard the recommendation of the administration for the approval of the maintenance and re repair agreement with the city of Crown Point regarding our locker room and storage building at Colonel John Wheeler Middle School they have a motion second motion by Miss Basin second by Mr basser question or discussion all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries 30-0 and last but not least of the action items 4.05 the CPO High School pool mechanical equipment replacement pro project Mr ree thank you Mr President as you're probably aware we've been limping along the mechanical of our pool at the high school um we are approaching at this point the the 22nd year of use for that high school pool and a lot of the equipment as you can imagine with the chemicals that are processed there it is time to do a a full overhaul of the what I'm going to call the guts the innards of the pool uh back in the back so you may not see anything fanc the actual pool deck uh but if you walk back behind the the doors and walls of mechanical area you'll see some upgraded uh areas back in there so we have bid out that process and have a bid that we are comfortable with from spear corporation uh so we're recommending approval of the contract for the pool mechanical equipment replacement to spear uh for $49,800 to spear Corporation in the amount of $49,800 replacement of all of the guts of the pool uh new UV filtration system um as we're doing with with most of our construction projects bringing it up to what would say current uh technology perfect thank you all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed motion carries three Z thank you uh five on tonight's agenda is information recogition items 5.01 the superintendent's discussion uh groups uh Mr Vasser anything to share from any of yours nothing from Cedar Lake Redevelopment commission hey likewise I have nothing from Winfield we move on to 5.02 uh director of Grants and assessments Mr Hardman evening thank you as we approached the beginning of the school year anually all of our staff need to what is called test security and integrity training that the state provides for us uh and that consists of actually we're getting ready to send that out that consists of reminding and training new teachers of the code of ethics practices for uh procedures for administering the standardized test when I say standardized test I'm talking about the SAT that's given I talk about Pat about I learn we have I learn checkpoints we have there's a number of Assessments that we are required to administer and by September 30th these this training needs to be done so this code of ethics and practices is a reminder we also have material security that we have to be conscious of so any kind of print material that comes into the building needs to be stored in a secure lock Place need to be signed in and out inventory each and every day for that to occur and so again very tight security when we look at our materials there's also monitoring that so we we uh work with our principles uh to get into classrooms to uh to monitor the testing environment uh there's certain protocols and things they need to go through and check off and then we have to have that documentation in the event that we are monitored by the state which is possible we have never been monitored by the state yet uh But as time goes on you never know when that could happen and we have to have the documentation of that of that kind of monitoring there is last year we actually had some parts of the audit that came in and they were looking at some of the testing security documents that we needed to have and we were had to provide those and so so the monitoring of this is pretty extensive after testing is done there is a forensic analysis of all the test data so for instance if I take the test and it shows that I am changing my answers too often uh then the state will contact Dr ter and Dr Chell will contact me and then we will have to investigate what took place sometimes this actually happened a few years ago it did entail interviews with the students and the teachers to see what was going on or what happened nothing came out of it we were able to justify that that process but that takes place after the test uh testing situation uh and then also we have to train our staff on how to uh to report a breach in security if a cafeteria work hears of students talking about maybe a test item that was shared across the class that staff member needs to be able to know what the process is at that point in time to report this breach and then there's contact the school test coordinator I would be contacted there a report that needs to be an investigation that follows that uh and then finally all of our staff member who go through the training do have to subm they sign and they understand essence of what this test security integrity means and if they violate it I mean there could be severe consequences even as far as the licenses are concerned so this is a time that we're preparing for the for the school year preparing for the administration of the test and we do remind uh staff principles prior to the testing of this information so they not only get it before September 30th but a test is going to be administered the reminders of those test security their any questions thank you thank you Mr har 5.03 uh director of Elementary education and um recently instead of Mr China it is Dr China and congratulations on that recent accompl thank you very much it's been a big relief to have that off uh off my shoulders but um yeah thank you very much Mr Angel um while I do not have everyone's name that took advantage of this opportunity I do want to thank uh many elementary teachers who uh have dedicated themselves to some professional development uh kind of over the second half of last school year and over these summer months a couple different opportunities one from uh the Indiana learning lab in partnership with Maran University uh it's a science of reading course about 30 hours and then another opportunity that many of our teachers have uh engaged in over the summer is the keys to literacy course uh which is up to 80 hours of professional development um I don't want to miss anyone's name so I'm not going to read uh the names I do have but we've had many elementary teachers who are uh dedicating uh many hours this summer um to this professional development and I really appreciate them in their time and energy to learn and grow to best serve our students in the area of reading um also just really want to take a moment and thank our front office staff members uh and our custodians they uh are working incredibly hard behind the scenes and on the phones and everything to uh make sure that registration is going smoothly and our buildings are ready to go we have kindergarten kickoff happening at all of our buildings next week so lots of uh nervous excited 5-year-olds will be coming through our doors next week and their parents who are probably more nervous uh than the kids but uh that's happening next week at all of our buildings and then open houses will be happening the week after that uh as we gear up for another great year thanks thank you and again congratulations thank you very much director of secondary education Mrs Ramirez thank you Mr President and board members I just want to really um give some Kudos and some congratulations to our administrators at the building level they have been in the throws of a series of leadership professional development over the summer which has been really meant to help prepare for a successful kickoff to the school year as well as will really drive the work that we're doing throughout the school year and they are very committed to being welcoming not only to our new families to our returning families they have a lot of plans in place in terms of open houses that are scheduled family and parent nights that are happening Bulldog Rush at the eighth grade level uh sorry at the sixth grade level as well as at the ninth grade level and so there are a lot of really great events that are happening that really show how tied into our community we are and how we want our parents and families to partner with us to make sure that students feel prepared that parents feel prepared as well um and so I think as you look at websites and or their newsletters you will be very well informed of all the great happenings that are coming up and I also want to thank our technology team and our building for really working um in collaboration to support registration and making sure that that was as seamless a process as possible and for being solid um problem solvers and working together to navigate all things that are kind of still a little new in power school so thank you for that any questions thank you Mr Ms director of exceptional education Mrs pascus good evening Mr Angel members of the board just wanted to provide an update and some appreciation to our team here at this building today we had 14 new exceptional education staff members in this room most of the day and people are coming from different districts some are brand new and they have been so impressed by what we do here to on board new staff um and so I just appreciate the ability to spend money in that way and frontload these folks before they get started on their front day first day most have remarks they've never experienced anything like it so thank you to Mr AKA and his team and I have to thank ran Gil because he has had to pinch hit several times to come in and help us with technology so just wanted to share a thank you thank you Mrs pascus there's a reason they don't give me a Smartboard and any more technology other than this laptop uh assistant superintendent Mr GM firmy thank you Mr President first before I get into anything else I just want to thank all those people sitting along the wall curriculum instruction team and Miss Allen back there our director of communication there are no uh dog days of summer here at central office uh unofficially the new teachers showed up last week and and they are putting in a lot of work to help those people prepare and beyond that all the administrators and the building uh level folks just getting ready for the school year so we are we are on we are getting ready even before the late County Fair hits hits town so they're working so hard thank you all of you for all your hard work um one I also want to thank uh Mr Coulson our supervisor of Safety and Security uh he took the time to with myself meet with every Crownpoint police officer over the course of last week uh Tuesday and Thursday we we invited them in as they came off their shift or were going on their 12-h hour shift so some of them were a little less excited than the others but we were able to feed them breakfast and uh talk to them about everything that we do in our schools with the goal being that if if they do have to respond to an emergency they know the protocols that are being taught to the teachers and the staff in the school um and it it's just something that opens up that communication and also gives them you know the thank you that they do for us so thank you Mr Coulson and thanks to the Crown Point Police Department for participating in that thank you Mr J F 5.07 Chief human resource officer Mr Kiwa thank you Mr President and board members um in a similar fashion here I need to thank all those fol on the back wall too um our new teacher Academy is up and running and it's just amazing uh the amount of talent that we have inside of our school corporation to you know introduce our new staff members to the way we do things here in PR kind of help them find their groove as I say uh sooner rather than later um it's pretty impressive H however beyond that you know all the talent that we put in front of them and uh in sessions behind the scenes there's some folks that are just doing some amazing uh things as well um particularly uh food service and I'm just going to let Matt will pick this up and run with it here in a little bit but um our food service department is busy right now there's so many trainings and events and things going on and what they do to make us all feel good uh when we get together in these big sessions is uh nothing short of spectacular so thank you to CHR and her crew and also while this configuration is sitting in front of us right now here there's going to be a group of folks that are going to come in and change the way this room looks for tomorrow morning not just this room but every room in here um so to Sherry and Gwen uh and their crew that that come in here at night and not only do they clean the place but they change the way things look they they make it look exactly how we want it to look for every session um they're just amazing folks so love and appreciation goes out to shering one and that that custodial staff there as well so thank you thank you Mr Aiwa 5.08 Chief Financial Officer Mr Reese thank you Mr President I just want to build upon what Mr AKA mentioned about Food Service uh you were here for state of the schools they put together that entire uh spread and breakfast along with the new teacher breakfast the professional development sessions already mentioned tonight um they are preparing some breakfast and lunch virtually every day around here and we can't thank them enough doing that and introducing our new staff and the community to what we have to offer it's really pretty special I'd also like to give a uh a thank you to the technology staff we completed the power school our student information system rollover in 15 minutes this year we were up and done uh and just a nice change of pace I think for all of them to get that roll over where used to take a day or two we're talking about 15 minutes uh so that was a a nice change of pace as we're looking back on that transition we made over uh last last summer with that they have a big task in front of them the new teacher laptops you approved uh a month or so ago uh those are now all in and they've set up meetings with all the new teachers uh that come in or they can get get them on the first week of school when the teachers are back and on top of that we also have uh the Chromebooks for the K5 and ninth graders as we replace those units as well so uh those two staff's quite busy and I don't think me to mention buildings and grounds and what's going on the right now as you've sure you've gone through so great great staffs doing great work as we prepare uh for August 13th and the teachers arriving it's pretty special to be a part of so thank you thank you Mr Reese director of communications Mrs Allen I'm sure she's got some stuff she's been going through here hi good evening um we are in the thick of back to school season so over the next couple of weeks our team is at a couple of community events just connecting MERS we were at The Point farmers market last Saturday we'll be there again this week on Wednesday at 10: a.m.

[Music] wow hello and welcome to Around the Clock I am your host galanda Greaves this is a special edition Starbucks is finally opened here in Ashland after years of contemplation and uh the time they had to spend in front of our planning board it is Friday July 26th and we are here to attend the ribbon cutting available to the public as of Saturday so let's check it out welcome everyone um good afternoon on this gorgeous day um where we're celebrating a wonderful opening um of Starbucks I'm Beth Reynolds I'm the economic development director for the town of Ashland um and I am so happy um to welcome all of you to the official ribbon cutting of the first and only now Starbucks in Ashland finally long [Music] awaited um it's so great to see all of the support from the community from the board s and the groups and committees um that have all worked together to help make this happen um a lot of our staff is here from our community development team that also worked really hard um with the Starbucks team with the developer um and to make this all a reality so this is a great day for Ashlin we are so excited to have Starbucks um join our business Community um um there's going to be a bunch of speaking today that I'm going to turn it off to um but thank you for coming welcome we are gonna um listen to a few um talks and then we're going to do our official ribbon cutting and open up the first store so Michael I'm going to introduce Michael Herbert our um Town managers Ashlin town man thanks Beth thank you um and gosh yes it it seems like it's been a while but we're finally here we finally got to this point and uh congratulations everybody I think uh as Beth mentioned this has been a long time coming and you know so many people worked really really hard to get us to this point and uh you know first of all I'd like to thank uh you know Starbucks and Greg for you know being willing to come here and make this investment here it's really really important to us and I mean here we have a state-of-the-art store I mean this is this is incredible stuff I also want to thank um you know our planning board who worked really really hard with uh Starbucks to you know create a site I think this is just a wonderful site the way they they worked it and and it's a beautiful beautiful site that adds to you know the aesthetic value here in town uh also our select board uh was involved in this and helping and make this happen and then you know also our wonderful staff uh Beth Peter matchak Becca uh sofhia Evan uh Becca Navaro you know I keep on forgetting we have two beccas now uh so so Becca squared and others really worked really hard to get to this point and um I think this is a huge huge accomplishment for Ashland and you know I just you know reflect on this when I when I got here I mean almost everybody that would come up and talk to me and say hey can we get a Starbucks in town you know have any of you heard that you know and you know you have to explain look it's not necessarily our decision you know Starbucks needs to see that you know it's it's worth the investment and that it's going to be supported um but you know and we hope all of our businesses feel supported and we've worked really really hard uh especially Beth to get to this point but you know having a Starbucks here really does bring an element you know a certain panach if you will to to town that a lot of towns uh strive for and and here we are and you know one of the things that I was thinking about is just again reflecting on the last 10 years you know we had this Vision 10 years ago about creating a community that was a great balance of open space and development and you know that had events that celebrated our community community character and who we are and a town that was worth investing in you know you know understanding that we had to pay a price to achieve the goals that we had set out to do and that we were worth Ashlin was worth investing in and paying that price and we're starting to see that we're starting to see that with the investments in downtown and 126 and some of our community development projects like the Riverwalk and uh the Valentine project and you know some of the investments in staff that we've made in our departments you know we've come a long ways uh just in terms of infrastructure and Community Development and Yolanda where where's Yolanda where are you oh right there Yolanda so you know we were just talking about the fact that you know towns have to make that public investment to Spur and encourage the private investment that happens and um everybody that I've talked to that's that's been willing to make that investment including you know Greg and Starbucks has said you know what if you weren't doing the things that you were doing in town we wouldn't be here so I think we all should give ourselves a round of applause for that uh just that Collective work so I should have started I should have led with um our Starbucks crew so Brad is the store manager here um and Connor is the district manager he serves over 12 communities so 12 different stores right 12 different stores so yes so it's great so I should have introduced them first my apologies so next up um from senator Spa's office Susan nickel and from our State Rep uh Jack Lewis please come on up uh but it is so great to be here and be surrounded by so many folks uh Beth you you've done it again uh like not every Community has Beth I those of us who spent a lot of time in Ashland maybe don't realize that uh but to have someone who goes out proactively uh to bring businesses into town and then supports businesses in every way that she can uh is just remarkable and this is a testimony to everything you've done uh Michael You' reflected on your your 10 years as Town manager and I think you know this is sort of a uh cherry on top of the the cupcake of all the progress we've had here uh but it's really you and the select board Yolanda Joe and others who have managed to find a way to celebrate ashlin's past without living in it honoring it while also boldly moving forward and nothing says that quite like a Starbucks uh and I love a good ribbon cutting but this is the first one where there's been bottomless caffeinated beverages so um I'm going to stop there so I can get back in line uh but I have a official citation uh from the house uh signed by myself as your State Rep here in Ashland uh and then the speaker of the house as well uh I'll read a little bit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the House of Representatives be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to Starbucks and recognition of your grand opening of your new Ashlin location uh s the entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for Future Good Fortune and continued success in all Endeavors given on this 26th day of July congratulations I can never improve on Jack's poetic speeches so I'm not going to I'm just going to read a citation as all of you know Senate President spilka is an Ashlin resident and reminds us all all the time how much she loves being an ashin resident so she wanted to make sure that I represented her here today uh thank you you're doing a great job better than I did for you he's trying to take my vantage J okay uh Commonwealth of Massachusetts state senate official citation be it known that the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Starbucks in recognition of the joyous occasion of the grand opening of Ashen Starbucks location and then has a little bit more blah blah blah that um uh that the Massachusetts Senate extends its best wishes and it's signed by your Senator Karen spilka and by the Senate President who is also Karen spilka terrific thanks Adam Adam saxs so Adam saak is our fearless leader for the Ashlin Business Association um he's gonna take it away uh thank you Beth um on behalf of the Ashland Business Association um we are so excited to have Starbucks uh here in Ashlin on a personal note um the ladies in my life uh my wife and my daughters Abby and Ashley they've been waiting for this moment for for so long I can my wife um I remember saying that why can't why can't Starbucks why can we why can't we have a Starbucks in Ashlin and you know here we are um I have my uh venty um black iced coffee um I thought I'd live on the edge but I I just went back back to the go-to um but we're just uh we're so excited ashon Business Association our our goal is to to help promote a healthy business environment and uh certainly we have a great partnership with the town Michael Beth uh Beth also serves as a board member um on the as Business Association Along With Dick Bennett dick um who's our Treasurer uh Peter Chisum um our uh vice president soon president um David Rondo and um we're just so excited to have the opportunity to to to um to promote a business like Starbucks here in Ashlin um we have a little certificate here with a piece of the ribbon uh and I'll just read it to you the certificate of recognition this certificate of recognition is awarded to Starbucks in honor of their official ribbon cutting today the ash Business Association extends it's very best wishes for continued success welcome to Ashlin thank you and then from one great leader to another I am going to ask um Yolanda Greaves she's the chair of our select board to come and say a few [Applause] words thank you Beth I also want to recognize two other members of our five member board are here Claudia Bennett is here and Joe manani is here um I know Brandy is off and as I believe Makita is so as many other people have said for Ashland this is a very exciting time to have Starbucks come to our town uh from a personal me for personally for me it's I now don't have to go to hopkington or Southboro or Framingham to get my Starbucks and then of course there's that other part in the back of my head goes oo meal sales tax um we don't all want to say that but it's partly true so I want to thank you both for the work you've done and welcome to Ashland I've already heard that you're starting to make connections and are going to be supporting our community moving forward which is what we all try to Foster right the goal is to bring businesses in and have them become part of our community they've worked very well with our conservation agent with our planning board with so many different staff here in town to make a Starbucks that we can feel proud of here in Ashland but we hope that Starbucks as well will feel welcomed and comfortable in our community so on that note I'd like to welcome Brad and Connor up if either of you would like to say something thank you so great to have you and uh and welcome with the first friends and family and like first few drinks uh of our store here um I'm Connor I'm the district manager supports Metro West Boston so I support the 12 stores from Welsley through Southboro um and I'm a nine-year partner with Starbucks and so what I'll share is a little bit of my journey um and what like truly fills my cup here in Starbucks and why this store fills into that um so the three things that I always walk away with his impact um and it's impact to our partners it's impact to our customers um and it's impact to our community um and so today we get to open a store with some of the be best technology we have in Starbucks um the best experience um we get to welcome a new team of Partners into this store um and we get to make their life easier uh by some of the technology and great things that we have in the store um and then two um is around the customer base um and so for all of you we get to welcome you customers in um into this store and create an awesome experience around coffee around connection uh and deliver a great third place uh environment for all of you uh and then Community we've already started it today but uh engaging in the community engaging uh in our nonprofits that are here um and this is day one um and so excited for the ABA and all the other nonprofits that joined us today um and the continued relationship that we get to have moving forward um so I walk away with those three things and the word impact uh that truly fills My Cup today so thank you all for joining um thank you all for welcoming us here to Ashland really appreciate it uh I'm Brad I'm the store manager and uh welcome Ashlin uh we're really really excited to finally have an opportunity to uh bring this great experience to the to the community um you know one of the things that attracted me to to Starbucks was the fact that you got a big organization that really makes a small town feel small right at the end of the day I think one of the things that's that really impressed upon me about Starbucks is that we we provide an opportunity for people to sit down and connect again right and and it really brings the sense of community together so we can all um learn and share our experiences with one another and build stronger relationships and obviously pay it forward to the to the Greater Community at large um so I I personally uh want to thank um the Commonwealth uh certainly the uh Ashlin Business Association uh my special relationship ship with Beth Reynolds um Beth and I met four weeks ago and uh we it was a we talk about connection a lot in Starbucks and it was through that connection that this this event came together um she went out of her way to introduce me to a lot of people in the community uh Greenup ashin who we're going to participate with and we're going to do some wonderful things together with our partners I also want to thank the the greater uh Starbucks team of Partners uh we wouldn't be here and and Kenley [Applause] we wouldn't be here without their support um was a rough week did but we did it and we're here and I can tell you a lot of sweat a lot of Tears a lot of equity in the last couple of months last several months uh kind of getting everybody up to speed through the onboarding process I've got store managers here I have uh you know members of the uh the Starbucks team in Framingham uh members of the the Sherwood team I've got members of the Shoppers World team so Gita Ariel Vicky Alex um my gosh who else is here all my partners that are on the team that have been here training um I I really want to celebrate and thank the body of work you've done you've really embraced the learning culture we were here yesterday learning all the new technology so I would ask for your patience we're going to get it but nonetheless uh I'm just really elated to be here I'm really elated to be the store manager representing the Greater Community of Ashen I've grown up in this area so I can totally relate I live right down the street in Upton so I'm a local and I've been a local my whole life uh so welcome and uh let's get to know each other over a cup thank you awesome I think it's really um I think it's really important to know that this this building actually came in so many stages so Greg Salvatore is the owner of the property he brought starbu Starbucks in another team built the bu building another team decorated the building and then Brad's team came in this week just a day or two of training um to figure out all of the new system so I mean it really has been a great work in progress so it's great to celebrate so let's cut a ribbon I think and make it official um so we're just going to have everybody sort of back like kind of scooch over here and back up we are speaking with Jean Walker she is President chair we have a group we know in charge she's with Greenup Ashland and while we were here at the opening today what was the news that we found out Jean the news that we found out oh that that they are going to be a sponsor Starbucks is going to be a sponsor of the green up ashin and we've never had a budget so it's wonderful to have some backing for us so Starbucks is just opening and they've already promised to support and be a community partner here in Ashland how exciting is this for you and your group it's wonderful because we've been we've been here for over 20 years I'm one of the founding members and um we've always had to kind of at the last minute hope and pray and keep our fingers crossed so we got enough money to buy all the trash bags and keep our website going and get everything done that we need to so this is going to help help us a whole lot well it's very exciting thanks for taking a few minutes to chat with us okay you're fine thank you thanks Jean okay we are now speaking with Tatiana Pope she is an Ashland resident and she's also now working here at the new Starbucks Tatiana what does it mean for you to be able to live and work in the same Community um it's an honestly it's a wonderful experience I've always had to travel far for work you know what I mean and now it's in my own community so I'm very excited uh to connect with new people and be able to get closer to my community as well because I I moved here not too long ago about a year ago and there's not too many people that I know because of um I didn't work in my hometown so now I'll be able to connect and I'm very excited about that well I think you should get a name tag that says Tatiana Ashland yes right you go you go to different hotels in Las Vegas and they always have the hometown so that people know that you live here in town yeah yes we actually have a couple partners that are actually um res um residents of Ashland so you know it brings us all closer together and um that's what's the most important you know um Starbucks is really about connecting and getting to know people and it just makes me get up every morning um more excited because I have people that I can you know relate to and just make their mornings a lot greater nice what was the training like for for to work at a Starbucks oh um the training is a lot um it's a lot of hard work and dedication and um just making sure that everyone is treated equally and having everyone you know come together and collaborate the way we should um so that everyone around us is um on the same page and happy and enjoying you know the everyday life and enjoying the atmosphere of Starbucks so do you have to know how to make every single drink on the menu um we do what is the hardest drink to make um well Starbucks allows customers to customize most of our drinks so we could have the craziest drinks um someone can come and customize and put add 20 things on it so it's really all about the customer you know the the customer always comes first and we want to make sure we give them what they want and what they pay for okay what's your favorite drink to make for me well my favorite drink to make would probably be a frappuccino I like the strawberry cream Frappuccino um and I also like the strawberry asai it's very popular here you know okay and what's there there there's always that conversation about the secret drink menu do you guys have the secret drink menu or are you not allowed to talk about that um they mention the secret drink menu and you know when I was not a partner at Starbucks I would come and I would order the pink drink because that was on the secret menu um but nowadays honestly the menu is yours H you know you have it you get it the way you want it anything that you want we are able to customize for you and just make it you know pleasurable for you and everyone else around us great well Tatiana so I'm going to do this with you because you're an Ashland resident so when guests come on my show Around the Clock news for Ashland there's a question I asked them all so think about this is there something about you Tatiana Pope that not many people may know that you'd be willing to share with the viewers of Around the Clock um well I'm a very hard worker I'm dedicated to my job I I have to be I'm a single mom of four children so you know this is really a big help to have the support of my partners have the support of my district managers um and shifts it just makes every day better and um I'm very I'm very crafty we like to you know just make things and alter things the way we want it to be and I just feel like I I'm here to serve the customer so well Tatiana thank you so much for speaking with us good luck in your new job and than you so much we're very excited welcome to Ashland as an employee but certainly welcome to Ashland as a resident as well thank you so much you're very welcome we are outside of the new ashin Starbucks with Beth Reynolds Ashland economic development director Beth what does this day mean for you oh this is so exciting it's so it's always so wonderful to welcome a new business to Ashland but to have a Starbucks here too is just a just icing on the cake it's just lovely we're so excited to have them here there was a lot of somewhat controversy about it coming to Ashland and then the process and what was that like for you helping basically you helped the process so that we could keep them here in Ashland right yeah our team worked really hard hard together um to work with the developer of this site um to make this a reality um so I think it was a solid team effort um that really kept them going um and the support of everyone uh really did help it come to fruition and what are you hearing in the community about this opening uh when is it opening it needs to open yesterday so it's so exciting to know that it will be open um for everyone tomorrow and it's an exciting day today to cut that ribbon we are now speaking with Adam Sachs he is the current president president of the Ashland Business Association Adam I'll ask you the same question what does this mean for you and the Business Association to have Starbucks here in Ashland uh well we'll start with me okay uh my family has been talking about Starbucks coming into Ashlin for significant amounts of time my girls many many years many many years uh so um they are extremely excited uh that they're going to be able to get their AC strawberry AC with lemonade um I'm sort of a venty uh black uh ice coffee type of person but certainly from the National Business Association uh we're striving to bring businesses here um and help them grow so a Starbucks is awesome and we're very excited we are now speaking with Becca Solomon she is the conservation agent here in Ashland is that is that is your correct title yes so Becca from your perspective how much involvement has the conservation agent and our committee had to have with this site yeah so the Conservation Commission and through us the conservation department had a lot of involvement in the early stages of the project with planning um interestingly enough the Starbucks property actually used to include the residential homes that are actually behind us right now and there's Wetlands back there and so um there was actually a really old permit on those properties that had to be closed out but it involved the Residential Properties and so Starbucks was actually really great about it they came in and they actually paid for the order to be closed on that property so that they could also get their their new permit on this property and so we've been involved watching that the storm water um making sure erion controls are there um and ensuring that as we're doing this project we're not having any environmental issues throughout the project okay so what are you going to order while you're in there today uh I'm actually not much of a coffee drinker but I'll be getting some tea in there I was going to say they have some really fun refreshing Iced Teas and things so maybe you can try something new yeah I think they have a strawberry lemonade refresher that sounds delightful good well Becca thank you for speaking with us and thank you for the work that you do as our conservation agent here in Ashland thank you well that wraps up another episode of Around the Clock as your host galanda Greaves I've hope you've enjoyed our sharing this story of the new Starbucks coming into town and as we end out this show we have a little clip for you you of going through the drive-thru and seeing what that traffic might be like thanks for watching this episode of around the clock and we hope to see you at Starbucks so [Music] wow look at that [Music]

we are partnering with the library for story time at bu Park Dr ter is reading the story about school bus driver and we will be bringing a school bus fun and next week we are at the city of crown points National Night Out event the week after that we'll be at the senior programing to out event passes to resents 62 and older and then finally this is the last week to sign up for our facilities tour that we're hosting next week um the information is on our website we have about 20 community members so far we're gonna um take a bus and visit five spots in the district has a Magic School Bus theme it's a field trip for grownups excited about that any questions uh Brooke any uh what's the deadline for applications and submissions for our ambassador program soon we have three spots left okay all right so just of those community members that might have heard about that program and are still interested you've heard it we have three spots left thank you Brooke can you hang on a second okay 5.10 superintendent of schools Dr tarell so I'm going to ask Brooke to help me out with a portion of mine and she's going to hate me for doing this that's absolutely fine um Brooke tell us a little bit about the awards that we recently received that were a result of your work but also many who obviously helped with those things as well so if you would share those with us tonight we received four National Awards this year from school public relations Association three of them are for um pieces or things that we've created are super things video series our Capital Improvement projects web page and our district brand book all run all won a tactics award and then the ambassador program received a award sorry to remember it um which honors strategic Communications initiatives so while Brooke did a lot of the work especially on the ambassador program everybody that you see in the room tonight present in those and and help with that as well our students and staff members with the super things so there's just a lot of things that come together but Brooke thank you for for your uh work in those areas also I would like to um just give a a brief construction update I know we've got some parents out there especially if you're a parent of students who may be going to Solen I know that as you drive by you're wondering is this really going to work two weeks from Wednesday when kids roll in the building um yes it will um and we're going to be in a good spot the bus parking lot will be finished as well uh the areas around the school um if you guys will recall last year at this time it wasn't Solen but it was several other buildings and so um Lake Street as well is in a really good spot um Solen on the outside looks like all kinds of stuff going on inside it's amazing how many of the classrooms are actually ready to go and in a really good spot so pay attention to um updates you'll be receiving from your building principles also to our website uh to your buildings websites as they'll be posting updates as well as we get closer school year uh even with some of the information that uh Dr China mentioned um as we look at kindergarten roundups and and times for the the kids to be in the buildings as well and just pay attention to those for the latest information thank you Dr Terell uh item six tonight other business of the board um I know i' just like to mention we did have a work session that was open to the public uh week ago Wednesday two weeks two weeks ago Wednesday uh discussing just uh policies and things that um that's the format that the state allows us to meet with a group to discuss those things so very positive feedback from all sides included uh still some followup included on that and U when some of that finishes we'll relay that information to the public any other board business no okay we'll move on item seven our board statements of appreciation and recognition 7.01 Mr basser anything to see me Nick I'd like just say again to you congratulations and it's all because of that Butler education isn't it even though you chose the wrong fraternity you chose the right University congratulations Miss Bas uh I would just like to Echo that Dr chaa that's an amazing accomplishment and um I I can't even imagine doing that with the extreme workload of everything that you've done with your new role here transitioning to that having a family at home so um we definitely appreciate your continued commitment to bringing the best you can to your role here so thank you for that I also want to say say we had um the opportunity to attend the state of the schools breakfast a few weeks ago three weeks ago maybe at this point and to see this room I mean we've seen we've been in each piece of the room but to see the whole thing opened up um the way Food Service took care of the breakfast was absolutely amazing um I've been to many events across the business world and everything and this literally rivaled some of the best that I've seen so that is um amazing amazing a lot of that is the effort of those folks organizing I I didn't even really recognize or think about the custodial staff that's making sure the room is assembled that way and Food Service did an outstanding job doing that obviously um your guys's planning of that and then our students and families who spoke at the event um it was really wonderful I loved the format of getting to hear from students in the buildings on their take of different parts of um of our six C so that was really wonderful thank you for putting that together I have a couple this evening uh first of all two AR staff Genie Lang and all those involved I don't want to misnames but I know she was behind it and the food staff for the new teachers breakfast that was last Wednesday and um it's just amazing to see those teachers that are with us come and back for that at the tables with those new teachers and see the excitement on their faces and you know kind of put names with faces in those situations so welcome to all them and uh best success with all them um and then the team behind the scenes that plan this building out the way they did to kind of echo his basin's thoughts to have a kitchen here uh to where nothing needs to be transported everything can be done right here and to the Quality that it is done is just amazing so kudos to everybody that was involved in that decision uh someone would say well why do you need a kitchen and administration building well I think just based on what was said here tonight that proofing the pudding so to speak and uh last but not relas to our football team which I was just made up aware of that was doing some cleanup at Lake Street in their little uh yard area there with helping trees clean up the place and all that those kids earn their or students athletes earn their community service hours by doing so so uh kudos to coach buzz and what he's uh put in there is not just being athletes and students but also helping out in the community so uh thank you to all those that were involved in that today and uh Mr babjack will be a little sad that he missed his meeting tonight because we're pretty close to a record for a summer meeting so with that I will look for a motion to adjourn and that's on the time nothing more so sove second a motion by m Bas second by Mr bassador all those in favor please signify by saying I I those opposed carries three Z thank you

all right mu W OAS good morning to everybody I am so thankful for your guys's time I know that this is a weird time to have a board meeting but we have some important things that need to be taken care of so with that started I'm going to go ahead and do roll call we have myself present Miss MCB we have Miss SS and Miss MC cheffrey present is Miss MC cheffrey present no no okay so it's just miss Michaela Miss SS and myself we have a quorum and and we're going to go ahead and get on with our discussion item we are here for the approval of suspending policy bgb and approving Copper State education alliances policy manual um I would like to thank our special guest for copper Mr Del palasio and Mr madx for being here and Mr M man if you want to go ahead and get us started with this um conversation thank you yeah absolutely Madam president I'd like to start by first off let me let you know that um I'm I'm bookended by doctors so Dr dupin and Dr Lauren are here with me so we're just we're at a um for our for our leaders and so um that's why the odd screen setup and everything but we're um you know very excited to have this opportunity to move forward we're very appreciative of uh Mr Maddox and and Mr Delio's um efforts to get us up and running with our new policy manual um it is what I've been describing as like a works and all approach we're not done refining our policies and there's you know some things that we had in the works last year that will still need to be integrated um but what we believe we have is a uh great jumping off point and something that we'll provide us with compliance as we enter August here and start the school year um that will then have the freedom um given the uh improvements in the platform that we're working with um and the amazing cooperation from our partner at Copper um will give us the ability to continue to refine our policies throughout the year which will also set us up well for our student outcomes Focus governance uh policy diet goals as we move forward amazing and um I just want to double down and say thank you to the team and also for coopertive working this I know that there was some time um RS too so we could be in accordance with some Title 9 changes so I appreciate all the hard work from the administration team cabinet and working together I know that our attorney right now as well has been helping and working with copper so everything is being vetted you know through all different Avenues and I'm just really appreciative of this time especially because it does align with our student outcomes focused governance work we do have to do a policy diet at this time and working hand inand with the current attorney that we have as well and smoothing everything over is working out perfectly so I'm appreciative for that um board members I don't know if you have any questions if you were able to review the approval and why we're suspending the policy bgb but this is the time if you guys have any question questions comments any wonderings no I was able to open up everything I like how it's organized um I know that's like nitpicky but um like it's easy to navigate and everything thing um so is the my only clarification the bgb was just that additional piece of the board self- AOW correct actually it's I believe it's the um we need to invoke bgb for the board to not go through two readings so typically a policy change would require two readings but the board um by virtue of that policy has the ability to um suspend that so in order to do this in the single meeting it would require that the board invoke that policy and and suspend the requirement for two readings okay there we go Miss Aris do you have any questions or comments um and just to to thank you Miss sis and Miss mcka I don't think it's nitpicky I really appreciate that the platform that we have now is accessible it's super easy and this is a concern that's been with our community and even our staff members of the accessibility on everything being everywhere not having correct direction of what's you know board governance versus the staff so I I was able to play around with the platform and I'm in awe of it I it's great and it's also mobile friendly we're always on the go in the fact that our policy services are now going to be accessible to our community to our staff on cell phone without having to go through all these different things yes it doesn't a picky but it's important to the work that we're doing so um I like that as well Mr J palasio Mr Maddox did you have any other comments to add or anything that you feel we need to know uh well first of all thank you Madame President uh governing board members superintendent man uh cabinet and of course our season ticket holders uh I want to thank you all for giving us this opportunity uh to really help your district and help your team uh with the resources needed to help you reach your student outcome goals and one of the ways we do that obviously is through policy um and so so it was a a long process in terms of getting a platform a brand new platform put in place and tested and we didn't want to roll it out to your District without ensuring that it was functional and as you said it is very extremely functional whether it's horizontal or sideways guess what you can still read it and it works it's beautiful it's easy it's colorcoded we're using letters and it's going to get better I want you all to know that this is a living breathing document while its foundation is set now there's still a lot of work that needs to go into to localize your policies um and so don't think this is just a one all Beall we're here to help you all as you develop your those policies that you truly want um that are Craton Focus okay and so I want to thank the your entire cabinet superintendent man who worked with Nick and I on Thursday and Friday we met with the department heads and went through line item excuse me policy by policy to ensure that they needed what they had what they needed in a policy program in a policy book to do their jobs well um and so that took a lot of time and I want to thank everyone who made time to visit and speak with Nick myself um but again folks this is just the beginning this is just approving uh the operational uh uh get you guys going but we you will see more of us uh this is going to be a Hands-On approach we look forward to working with your team obviously the board uh as we look for guidance update your policies and I do want to thank uh Miss Jessica Sanchez for her extra hands and looking through the manual and ensuring that uh we're compliant it's aign um at this point I'd like to introduce our chief legal adviser Mr Maddox and I'll let him also say a few words in regards to the process yes madame president members of the board and superintendent man in the cabinet thank you guys so much yeah I just wanted to mirror that um the the staff and the administration have been have been incredible in helping this become successful they met with me um you know all times of the day during last week they were texting me over the weekend they were highly responsive so it really made made our job easy and made it feel like a partnership so um really really appreciative of that they they're they're just fantastic folks um I'm pretty excited about about this platform and the policy I'm already actually planning 2.0 of the platform in terms of keeping it uh maintained and keeping it uh extremely accessible and user friendly this is not going to be a platform that gets 10 years old 15 years old 20 years old I mean we're we're going to be constantly tweaking the platform for userfriendly and for the success of all the staff and parents that that rely on the platform um those changes won't take any board action we're not going to do substantive changes without of course board approval but we're excited about keeping this platform current as technology rolls forward uh this policy is designed to to work in conjunction with a handbook a student handbook and an employee handbook we're excited about rolling out those handbook options as well and working with your staff our whole calling card is just keeping it custom keeping it custom to you and your needs so it's not going to be a generic handbook or a generic policy uh as Deon was saying we're going to keep working with you guys consistently to make this really something that operates at the local level we believe in local control and that's that's what we're trying to capture in this market is every district has a policy that's reflective of its District your community your students your culture so we appreciate your partnership on this we're really excited to be here today happy to answer any questions you have on the policy thank you so much for that do we have any other questions or comments all right and before I move over with the motion I just want to emphasize the partnership part I am so grateful that we do have this partnership where we can localize our P our policies into what our community wants our main purpose as Schoolboard members are to represent the vision and the community values of the the values of the community and this is exactly one part of it and how we loiz our policy services so thank you again for that it's something new that we haven't had in the past and I'm loving the partnership that we're having not only with cabinet but with the nonprofit that's actually localizing all of our policies so with that being said I move the governing board approved to suspend policy bgb and approve the entire Copper State education Alliance policy manual second all those in favor I I I thank you so much I appreciate everybody's time on this awkward day and I hope everybody has a restful rest of your guys's day grab some lunch thank you guys um Sophia we need to move to a journ oh my apologies all on the roll I apologize for that um with all that being said I already gave my goodbye spille I move the governing board approv to adjourn second all those in favor hi hi thank you guys have a good afternoon have a great rest of your school year thank you so much thank you everyone thank you very much thank you have a good day bye

e e e all right uh we'll go ahead and call this meeting to order I'd like to welcome everybody that's joining us here in the thousands of people that are watching remotely um uh we will start with uh 1.02 a moment of silence uh and then continue on to 1.03 the Pledge of Allegiance led by Miss Jill Humphries please rise for the moment of silence in the pledge if you'll join me in the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you and now we'll continue on to 1.04 roll call Miss Wilson Mr Chad Thompson here Miss Lori wood here M Sheila ug jetti is absent Miss Jill humph here miss Ronda pagee is absent Mr President you have a quorum thank you very much moving on to 2.01 approval of tonight's agenda do I have a motion so moved thank you second second thank you Miss Woods uh I'll Now call for a vote on approval of the agenda uh all those in favor say I I I any opposed all right and it is approved and we'll move on to 3.01 superintendence report and we will turn it over to Dr McCord thank you Mr Thompson governing board members uh Welcome to our me meeting this evening uh it is our first meeting of the 2425 school year and it's a Tuesday and it's also primary election day so hopefully everybody got out and vote voted today um speaking of voting the uh we have an override and a Lanell on the ballot come November 5th so if you voted today go out and vote again November um last Tuesday was a first day of school for students here in GPS we had approxim 32,000 students show up and approximately 4,200 staff members the energy and excitement on the campuses was very special and everyone was pumped up and ready to get the year started so we're excited we've been out to several campuses all the campus have been hit by uh District level Administration and the feedback has been phenomenal so well done to all of our schools for a great start to the school year big thank you to our operations department for taking such good care of our facilities this summer we had some sort of project on almost every campus and operations and the contractors worked extremely hard to accomplish as much as possible we're still putting the finishing touches on a few little things but I'm incredibly proud of what has been accomplished and a big thank you to our building managers as well as our custodians they really made these schools look perfect as the start of the school year so thank you to all them and lastly on Saturday August 3rd we will hold our annual v-net kickoff training and vendor Expo this event begins at 8:00 a.m.

[Music] welcome to the Views expressed we are public affairs television out of waca in Ashlin discussing local issues and Ashlin and Beyond today we have a very special guest Tamisha civil she is is running for Governor's Council District 2 Miss civil thank you so much for joining us thank you for having meina it's a pleasure to be here with the community of ashy fantastic well we've got a list of questions for you that we'd like to find out a little bit more about you while you're running uh what Governor's council is we've got a whole bunch of them so without any further Ado I'm going to get started uh but first a little bit about your personal background uh Miss civil who are you you well it's Tamisha civil I'm a mom I'm a advocate for the community um I have a master's degree from Northeastern University uh for uh criminal justice and Leadership uh I currently work as an associate probation officer out of the trial court of Massachusetts I've had experience working for the trial court within the last 10 years uh my job right now is to help people who have offended reenter into society by providing them and supervising them to treatment programs for substance abuse mental health I'm also a legal advocate for a domestic violence shelter and I've also worked for the Suba County District Attorney's Office uh working uh I work as an advocate navigating victims throughout the uh community that have been impacting impacted by crime um and I worked in the major felony unit and I I I've been serving my community in that capacity working in the trial court and um I'm here to serve and I'm running for Governor's Council and I'm also an Eastern region commissioner for the status of women and girls and um you know that's a nutshell about me but I love to serve and um you know I've have experience working in Juvenile Court mental health court substance abuse Court which is also known as a drug court uh I I refer veterans to veterans court so that we can preserve their records and I've worked with seniors to make sure that they're not U being exploited financially um by loved ones or family members or P attorneys who have taken control of their finances well you definitely seem to have uh quite a bit of experience with criminal justice um but before we get any further into this interview perhaps it would be helpful for our viewers if you were to explain exactly what Governor's council is and what they do and then specifically why you're running for this particular office well Governor councils what they do is they nominate judges parole board members they listen to computation pardons uh they nominate other public administra administrators such as notary public industrial act board members um Justice of the piece they do a variety of things but what they are mainly known for is nominating judges and providing advice to the lieutenant and the governor um when it comes to the judicial system so why are you specifically running for Governor's Council well I'm running for Governor's Council one I have the experience working in the trial court for the last 10 years and I understand the impacts I understand what people go through when they go to court um I work with judges eight hours of eight hours a day 40 hours a week and I can tell you I can see the good ones and I can see the bad ones and judges have an immense amount of power so they can turn your life to good and they also can turn your life upside down and that's speaking from personal experience but my professional experience is that I work with people from all walks of life in court when judges put them on probation it is my job to supervise them to not only make sure that they are contributing members into society but making sure that the condition that the judge have provided them to do that they successfully complete it uh we know that substance abuse is a disease we need to make sure that judges that sits on the bench understand that and that we need to be putting people into treatment programs instead of incarceration because I can I can tell you now a lot of my clients they tell Tamisha if I go to jail now I'll just come out worse so we know that incarceration is not the answer what the answer is is to make sure that judges understand what people are going through in the community we need to make sure that judges understand that substance abuse is a disease and we need treatment programs and we need to be able to make sure that judges have a relationship with these organizations that provide those kind of treatment to make sure that when someone goes into there uh for treatment that they are successful and that they can battle this disease that they're going and personally I have a a cousin of mine who spent 27 years in jail for a crime he did not commit in the city of Boston and in 2021 he was exonerated from all his charges so with my professional experience and working with people from all walks of life I turned my family's experience into a positive by giving back and working with people that have been incarcerated but to make sure that families who are impacted by uh the criminal justice system or legal system uh that they have the support they need but that this kind of incident doesn't happen to anyone regardless of whatever reason that they're in uh uh they're going into the the judicial system for and we want to make sure that we have fair and impartial judges and because I work with them because I know what they what what how they think and their temperament and I also work with clerk magistrates police officers defense attorneys and clerk magistrates those are the people that make the court around and I have a personal relationship because it it all these people make the courtroom and I have that experience working with them as well as judges so this would make me a a great candidate um and not only that I'm qualified but I have the education and I have the experience to make me the best person to be on the council and for 244 years there's never been a person of color to represent the council and or the council in general and if we want to bring diversity into the council to make sure that everybody's voices are heard and that everybody's rights are not impacted we want to make sure that we have a diverse Council to make sure that we are represented the way that we should Miss civil I wanna I wan to thank you for giving us a little bit about your background I wanted to zoom in on on the governor's Council itself so you mentioned it's been in existence for 244 years over over 244 years um Massachusetts is very unique Governor's councils do not exist in many of the states at all um and I think for some of our viewers they're very familiar with several editorials that have running the Boston Globe and other other local uh media establishments questioning the utility like why do we need to have a governance Council you know and and because other states don't do it some folks think it's kind of a redundant serves a redundant purpose some some folks honestly feel like it's a rubber stamp uh on on a Governor's decision or around you know judges and such i' I'd love to get your viewpoint on that particular take my viewpoint is that that this council is important if we want to have transparency if we want to be fair um the council is set up of eight districts and it's eight councils representing uh the the state of Massachusetts and if we want to make sure that we have uh the right judge to sit on the bench we need people to be on that Council and to vet those judicial nominees seeking to serve the people in the community so for me I think it is vital I think the council is important but we want to make sure that we get the right people with the right experience and the understanding that it's a People's Court and that we get the right judges on the bench that are aligned with the principles that reflecting the community so your position on Governor's council is that it serves that purpose I in my opinion it serves that purpose okay before you were talking about a lot of reasons why you want to serve and you talked about the issue of addiction quite a bit that sounds like that's one of your top policy issues i' like you to go a little bit more into depth why you think this is something that as in your capacity on Governor's Council you can impact policy on and and and uh perception on uh in in the court system but I'm also curious about you named some other policy issues too like to get your top two policy issues as you see them you know serving on governers Council what would you want to be most active in well so we I have an agenda and what I would like to see through these judicial nominees is that one they understand what these issues are and what have they contributed throughout their careers in working with organization and to make sure that they're educated um in these issues um and I have three restorative justice and the second would be U mental health and substance abuse and the third would be domestic violence uh can you I'm I'm Sorry Miss civil I wonder if many of our viewers know what restorative justice is that's a phrase that's that's kind of thrown around a lot and I think there's some uh not a lot of clarity on what that really is could you explain that absolutely so we have we want to make sure we apply we want to make sure we have judges that understand uh to address the root cause of the criminal and to and the over incarceration that is happening so according to Harvard the most populated people in prison are black and Latinos we know that so restorative justice kind of gives you an overview on how there is implicit bias how some of the how the uh black and brown folks don't get the same treatment as their uh counterparts they don't get fair treatment they get over incarcerated they get overcharged so by educating people of restorative justice we want to make sure that it's fair and it's just for everyone and that it's not being it it it's we want to make sure that everyone is getting the the the justice that they need it's I'm Sorry Miss Cil when you say over incarcerated and overcharged what what do you mean by that could you just provide some clarity around that absolutely so when you go to court the assist district attorney um will will ask the judge for uh for say a sentence on a crime that someone has committed black and brown folks often sometimes get punished more than their counterpart which would be Caucasian um for example the War on Drugs we have um we have marijuana it it it has affected a lot of people from getting jobs and the most population that has been uh affected by is the brown and black folks and those are the people that I supervise in court they come to me and I require them to get a job they say I can't because I have a u i have an offense in my in in my record that won't allow me to so there's a diversion some people get diversion programs so that their records could be uh preserved or there's some that pay the the a higher cost for a penalty for having that on their record so when I say that that's what I mean and then when you have domestic violence women need to be heard when they come in and they ask for a restraining order judges need to understand what that means it means they need protection and domestic violence have been rapid rapid in our community ities where women are being impacted by a domestic partner or a family member that they live with and we want to make sure that women are being heard at the first time they come in into court and I want to make sure that judges understand the totality of uh of domestic violence and assault and battery charges that someone picks up against another person and I work as a legal advocate for domestic violence homeless shelter and I cannot tell you how many women that come to me and and and they're so they have to start over they have to live their life over because they have to leave a partner that is that is abusing them and sometimes when they seek a assistance in court they don't always get it so we want to make sure that judges are un uh understand the impacts of domestic violence and the impacts that it has on a woman mentally emotionally and and physically and I work with clients all day that um impacted by by Substance Abuse and Mental Health incarceration is not the key some judges they may incarcerate someone so that they can sober up thinking that it's okay but the point is is that we want to make sure there's an alternative and judges are aware of that and that's providing them a treatment program for them to go into in order to get the help that they need I want to Circle back to uh something that you said around domestic abuse piece and you said do you want the judges to understand the totality of the charges around that particular person I I could you could you explain like is there a situation where a judge would not be privy to previous charge I'm just trying to get some clarity on on what what that what that means domestic abuse situations so the woman that I have helped I educate them on a restraining order and what the restraining order is for so some women say for example if they come into this country by a person that they're with or married they are afraid to get a restraining order because of their legal status and you know there is a piece that judges need to understand to educate other women who comes in that when you come for a restraining order a judge doesn't care about where you're from or what your legal status is your job is to protect them there's another reason when women come from it restraining orders you could uh a courtroom is a public place so a woman may not articulate exactly how she was feeling due to embarrassment or what other people might say so it may not come clear so and you have to have clear evidence of a person abusing you so there are multiple ways a woman can ask for a restraining order or a man but if doesn't articulate up to the statute then I feel like the judge can find other ways to make sure that they understand the seriousness of The Plea of the person that is requesting for the restraining order I see well thank you for that clarification uh and then you you talk about substance abuse as well um you know and and I guess I'm I'm not clear on on what precisely from a policy standpoint can be done around substance abuse um you know in that disease when you know folks commit a crime or crime is committed you know on Governor's Council Are there specific remedies that you would suggest around this or is or is it really more of a focus in on the issue and to figure out what some of the best practices around policy uh would be around that issue so Governor's Council don't deal with policies we simply nominate judges that that want to um sit on the uh trial court or trial court of Massachusetts but what we do want to do is there's a vetting process and we want to make sure that the judge that we're vetting that wants to be a judge understands the impacts and what happens in a community when someone is impact by substance abuse and um someone who is battling that disease and need help often times some judges may not have an educated understanding of substance abuse and may choose incarceration because you can tell on a person's record if they're com if they're picking up um Larsen charges in to me I can see that that this person has an addiction they're stealing and they're feeding their addiction by picking up some crimes that are on their record now when someone gets arrested the judge has the discretion to ask questions why are you picking all these charges are you fueling it with uh because you have an addiction are is this what is the problem so judges have discretion but you can read through uh the signs and and can read through a person's U um criminal record to see what is fueling these kinds of uh criminal activities now if if someone is doing these things what do you do do you put them in jail so that they can just when they come out to get worse or are you going to put them in a treatment to battle this disease that they have so that they won't reoffend again because if you don't have treatment you don't have a solution well thanks for clarifying that because I think again I I think the governor's council is you know something that people sort of circle the dot in whenever there's an election but don't really understand what role the governor's Council plays in judge selection or you know through that you know um that that that that is an execution of of of policy basically but like who these judges are and and how they operate is basically key to one of your key responsibilities on on govern Council so I think that's important for folks to understand so thanks for clarifying that um we are getting very close to the end of our conversation so uh there are a couple of more questions that I have for you um you talked earlier about some of your qualifications um but specifically and some of your experience um but specifically out of your qualifications that you've stated uh and the experience that you've [Music] stated makes you uniquely qualified to serve on Governor's Council as opposed to uh maybe other folks who who may have run for the position in the past or may be currently running well a lot of people like you stated doesn't know anything about the governor's Council and as long as you have an understanding of the criminal and legal system you can be part of the councils there are different types of of counsel that have different backgrounds there's school committee members there's mental health professionals but for me because I work with judges on a daily basis and I've been working in the tri court for the last 10 years I'm able to see the I'm able to see the judges that come in and and go and I'm able to see how they think I'm able to see their temperament I'm able to work with them and see what they like and what they don't like and I see first and foremost how they uh how they um sentence people whether it's in jail or whether it's giv probation and probation has a vital um part into this because when you're when you're um uh when the when the assistant district attorney is writing up a sentence the assistant district attorney writes what they're proposing the defense attorney is writing what they're proposing and then probation needs to sign off on the Green Sheet they would call it to make sure that this person is a candidate to be on probation and if this person can complete what the judge is looking for them to do and it is important that we have someone not only be on the council with a diverse perspective but also working with a lot of different people people that make the courtroom Go Round And also having experience working in different uh court systems and Court divisions uh I worked for the suffa County District Attorney's office and I worked in the major felony unit where all types of crime Major Crimes comes in I work with victims I I I'm a legal advocate for domestic violence homeless shelter so I know what it means when women are impacted by domestic violence and homelessness and I help people reenter into society that has been impacted in many different ways and and encounter the criminal justice system entering them back into the community safely making sure that they have the resources and access that we need so I understand that the trial court is a People's Court and it's not only about criminal we know judges listen to all types of cases they listen to civil cases they listen to divorces but for me what makes me St what stands me out is that I have an understanding how the court operates because I'm in the courtroom day in and day out and I've worked with wonderful judges and because of my experience and because of my knowledge and my education and personally people want to know that you personally relate to them and you understand um you understand what an average person goes to when you going to court it could be very intimidating going into court whether it's your first time or whether it's your second or third time it could be very intimidating but my job is is is for me to make sure that judges are fair and impartial and that anyone who encounters the courtroom that they are being heard and and and they're being justly served and I speak another language fluently so we know how important it is to make sure that we have interpreters in the courtroom to service people that come in that need the help so we want to make sure that no one is Left Behind when they come in the judicial system but we also want to make sure that our judges understand what it means to protect lgbtq rights we want to make sure that judges understand that substance abuse is a disease we want to make sure that judges have used their discretion to help people instead of incarcerating them we want to just make sure that everyone is felt welcomed and being heard in when they go into the courtroom well M civil you've you've given a pretty full picture of yourself and by the way you said you speak another language what languag is left I speak haian Creole okay um so um so and talking about the importance of bilingual services for folks in court as well we are coming up literally on the last couple of minutes here uh on the views expressed I just want to know if there's anything else you'd like voters to consider uh as they're making their decision for uh Governor's Council and then we'll wrap up well I first of all Mita I would like to say thank you very much for giving me the opportunity and I would like to thank the community of Ashlin for those who were tuning in and watching this interview and I would ask you that you vote for me September 3rd the primary and I would ask that you support me because I'm running a grassroot campaign you can find and learn more about all my endorsements um and you can read about my accomplishments you can visit ww.

at Highland High School and v-net stands for volunteer network and the kickoff training is designed for ptso and booster club members uh and they will receive excellent ideas about fundraising and how to properly run meetings and handle ptso and booster club finances so thank you to Bonnie and her department they give a good in service on that to all of our folks and a huge thank you to v-net for this excellent day of training and fund so we appreciate them Mr Thompson that concludes my report for this evening thank you Dr McCord and I just want to extend uh a thank you uh from the board to all those that uh worked so hard over the summer to get us ready uh for the start of the school year and all those that um made sure that the start of the school year was a success and uh excited to see that momentum move forward so thank you very much you uh we're going to move on to 4.01 request to speak to the governing board uh before we do so we will play the admonition 38-43 1.02 the board may make an open call to the public during a public meeting subject to a reasonable time place and manner restrictions to allow individuals to address the public body on any issue within the jurisdiction of the public body at the conclusion of an open call to the public individual board members May respond to criticism made by those who have addressed the board may ask staff to review a matter or may ask that a matter be put on a future agenda however members of the board shall not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during an open call to the public unless the matters are proper ly noticed for discussion and legal action during an open call the board requests that speakers refrain from voicing complaints against School Personnel or any person connected with the district as it may impact due process rights policies K Keb and K are provided by the board for disposition of legitimate complaints including those involving individuals forms required for use of these policies can be obtained from the Gilbert public school's website all right we have one request to speak to the governing board tonight uh Vanessa McGee you're welcome to come up to the podium and there'll be a clock on the screen you'll have three minutes thank you for giving me this time my I've been a part of this District since 1994 I start teaching in this District in 2003 I took a little break but I taught for about about 15 years my complaint is that I was told by the district what to do to for my teaching certificate um to remove a deficiency and I did exactly what the district told me to do I took the classes that they told me to take and they paid for and then when I went down to the ad they said that they had spoken to Gilbert and told them to stop telling people to take these courses even though I took the extended courses they said stop to tell them to stop taking them that's what they told them well I went to um I told my district I told our district that this is what I was told and that they said that I can get an emergency teaching certificate with for my CTE and then I was told by the did you say I can't name names because the person that was very rude to me and disrespectful um to me and I did make a complaint and nothing happened nothing happened and I am I'm devastated by how I was treated by our district I went I can't teach at the school I was teaching at I was moved with two days notice to another school and now in the position that I was in that I was helping students there's they have substitutes but I was lied to when they said that they couldn't give me an emergency teaching certificate they said they didn't do things like that that things were unheard of and then I was told that it giving it to me would be a black eye to our district no ma even though I have been impeccable to this District I have done everything to this District everything for this district and then without with two days notice I was moved and now my students at a title one school that has they have nothing they don't have there are two African-American teachers at that school and now I was one of them and I was one of the one of the the teachers that they actually came that they came to that they trusted I was called the nword and my principal and vice principal said well my vice principal said that he didn't know that that was a racial slur yet you take me away from there and then you put in substitutes I'm appalled it's it's wrong and EXC me I just want you to know that I did and I have my certificates here for you to see that I followed the letter of the law I followed every single thing that the district told me to do took every class they told me to take and to go to the ad and for them to look at and say you need to take two other classes and I said I would take them got on the schedule to take them but it didn't matter to our district it just didn't matter I didn't matter so then when I hear that everything is so great on these campuses when you have a teacher and I'm not the only one who is devastated by the way by the treatment I don't know what to say it's like am I good to my students absolutely because they had nothing to do with the the the decisions that were made and I did make a complaint and nothing happened Rachel never called me to say she apologized nothing happened nothing happened I got one hello from somebody on this and I since I can't say names one hello and I spoke to this person before and they never said until tonight when I walked in that was the first hello I ever got in person before that it's nothing and my principal over there where I was she should have fought for me look at my record it's perfect literally but since my principle and my district didn't fight for me then I have to stand and fight for myself not just myself but for other teachers who talk but won't come forward and fight for them and I do have these if you would like to see them thank you we'll move on to 5.01 monthly budget report Dr McCord thank you Mr Thompson uh Thompson we have Miss Betts with our first monthly budget report here for Gilbert public schools good evening um president Thompson and um governing board members Dr McCord uh this is the first presentation of the new fiscal year but it's the very last presentation for the prior fiscal year so this represents activity through June 30 of 2024 for and represents the status of our financials at the end of uh last fiscal year um before the activity associated with the encumbrance period so we'll go through um several of the grids as we normally do and then give you some uh some expectations over the next couple of months so the district operating funds Federal grant funds state Grant funds Enterprise funds and a couple of words about some other funds are the grids that we're sharing with you today so first the district operating fund you can see as usual the maintenance and operations fund is highlighted as well as the unrestricted Capital outlay fund note that our available balance uh that shows um at the as of June 30 is just over $14 million again we're still in the encumbrance period we're closing purchase orders just to remind you we did budget for a budget balance carrier forward of over 15 million this shows for 14 million but know that there's still some incumbrances there so right now we believe that to be overstated I mean understated the available balance is understated and there's still a lot of work that has to be done um moving expenses around to other funds so we we fully expect the available balance to be actually greater than what we budgeted for the same situation occurs with unrestricted Capital outlay the biggest difference however is that in unrestricted Capital all of the in cumbrance will roll over so the spend will still be there in the new year um and it will just be reflected when we share the first report uh next month reflective of activity through July 31st okay so um the Federal grant funds putting out or pointing out the idea high cost as well as the vocational education as you know we have to do our final revised budget in May but we have several funds that are not budget driven we able to spend the cash that we are allocated and so we were allocated out additional monies in Ida high cost as well as in vocational Ed and that is why that available balance is negative so that spend is allowed and um and okay we don't have to correct that negative balance I think is the point okay um under the state Grant funds uh the two most notable uh same thing with the vocational Ed on the state Grant side you can see that it's negative same circumstance though we received additional allocated dollars and so again that's a negative against budget not against available resources and finally we're sharing the instructional Improvement because we just received notification that our second payment was over a million dollar really good timing for the instructional Improvement fund to continue to grow to this level as we have a lot of professional development needs going into the 4 25 school year due to the implementation of our new math curriculum so just wanted to point that out to all of you uh Enterprise funds we generally share the Enterprise funds um making sure that you're aware of how they're doing um note that uh I'd like to give a shout out to the Community Education Department the ASCAP Grant you can see it was awarded at nearly $1.7 million this is was a very difficult Grant to spend and they were able to spend all of it except for about $103,000 just wanted to celebrate that that was quite an accomplishment to be able to use up all that all those monies uh Miss bets when you say difficult to spend do you mean just that the way the grant is structured there's a lot of requirements in how you spend exactly it had to be supplemental spend and it could only be associated with salaries and benefits we couldn't buy any stuff associated with that particular Grant all right thank you um the other point with the other two nutrition services and Community Schools um based upon their available balance we expect both of those funds to be in better shape um than expected so it's another good a good point finally other funds uh the most notable one is the employee benefit trust fund note the available balance is $23.6 million that we're expecting we did anticipate at a draw down of our employee benefit trust funds by about $2 million we will draw down less than a million dollars so our performance at the end of the school year has been very positive and so we are in good shape in the employee benefit trust as well and that concludes my report if there are any questions I'm very happy to field those any questions I I did have one question if we just go back to to our uh unrestricted Capital funds um are we being very careful in how those are spent because we don't have bonds going forward the bonds have all been spent and we were not able to to uh pass that to sell more so we are um in terms of all of that every um expenditure or request from any of our departments associated with unrestricted Capital we deliberate every Monday morning in cabinet before anything is approved so anything that you see on a future agenda we believe as a leadership team is of great importance so yes we are monitoring that very closely thank you for the question thank you Miss Woods all right thank you Miss bets thank you moving on to uh agenda item number six the consent agenda item uh do I have a motion to uh is there a motion I move that we approve the consent agenda items as shown tonight thank you Miss Woods is there a second second thank you Miss Humphries and I'll call for a vote uh all those in favor of approving the consent agenda items as outlined say I I I any opposed and the consent agenda uh items as outlined passes with a vote of three to zero uh moving on to agenda item number seven request for future agenda items are there any requests from the board all right thank you and moving on to agenda item number eight board committee reports uh we will not hear anything from uh Miss ug jetti or Miss Paige uh so and I have no reports for uh from the legislative as the legislative representative uh Miss Wood do you have anything from the city of Mesa not tonight thank you all right and miss humph the town of Gilbert lison and audit committee um I don't have anything from the audit committee we haven't met in a bit because we finished our budget and finished our year and will commence again next year uh but from the town of Gilbert um we had police officers at some of our schools as um we were coming back to school so we want to thank them for that and also we've been working uh with the town on bicycle safety and the town has received donated helmets there's some bicycle shops in Gilbert that are giving those away to those who would want one and so if you just check with your school you can find out where those are and and so we're encouraging students to wear their helmets while they're riding their bikes as a safety issue thank you for that report Dr McCord for Ronda Page's part I'll just add in there for the Gilbert educ AG Foundation um on August 14th at 8 8 am right here in this room we will have our Business Leaders breakfast so please feel free to attend August 14th I might have said August 8th no no you said the 14 thank you uh thank you for those reports agenda item number nine uh meeting date start from record thank you Mr Thompson governing board members on our next meeting is August 13th which is a board work study and brief board business meeting August 20th is our board policy committee meeting and August 27th is a regular board business meeting thank you very much and agenda item number 10 uh adjournment of tonight's meeting is there a motion I move to adjourn the shortest board meeting I've ever attended and I'll second that uh let's go ahead and have a vote to adjourn all those in favor say I I I and any opposed none and we are adjourned thank you everyone for uh your attendance and participation

Tamisha cv.com and I bring a diverse perspective to the council because for 244 years there's never been any representation of a person of color a person who is highly educated a person who has experience working with the community and knows that it's a People's Court and that everyone deserves to to be heard and to be fairly uh to be fairly uh um Justified when they come into the court and that they deserve a judge who is fair and impartial that listens to cases that understands the cases that they are they are reviewing and that they make sure that they're using discretion when discretion is needed and to make sure that we do not leave anyone who is impacted by substance abuse get the treatment that they need and with my experience working with various different divisions in the court veterans court senior uh working with our seniors from Financial exploitation um juvenile substance abuse court and mental health court and especially our veterans we want to make sure that we value their presence and for them serving our community and our country we want to preserve their record and provide them the great resources that they deserve to be contributing members back to society when they leave their post Tamisha civil thank you so much for joining us on the views expressed um you've given your contact information uh we'll be able to put that up on screen hopefully as well but again uh thank you so much for speaking with with us and once again when is the date of the election September 3rd September 3rd Ashlin go out make your voice be heard and vote for all of us here at waca Ashlin and the views expressed thank you so much for tuning in and again thank you Miss civil for joining us today for having me thank you [Music] oh [Music]

welcome USD 264 parents patrons staff community members and anyone that's watching this on YouTube uh Welcome to our year uh as we get started in year number two for me and the school year getting kicked off uh so we want to welcome you to August of 2024 in our Volume 11 of clear water Clarity I hope the summer found you to have a restful and relaxing summer and as we gear back up and get started uh we are excited and we had many projects going on and we're going to update you today on some upcoming activities uh but as we always do we always want to start with understanding kind of the why why are we doing this so again our Clear Water Clarity we're trying to provide some really consistent relevant communication which is uh part of our strategic plan so we want to make sure everyone understands why we're providing this information um and then next we're going to really talk about what what are we going to do so we're going to really share some important dates and times and some upcoming things as we get started here in August today and then finally how can we all go together and working as one team one family and one District to achieve uh some of these goals so really we're looking at the what part is we're going to welcome back we have a new year but we have uh same expectations so we're really going to talk about some of those opportunities that we have uh and welcoming everybody back to the new year um so what we're going to be able to look at here first is just some important uh dates as we get started so in August our new staff new certified staff will start on August 6 so we're going to welcome about 13 new uh staff members some of them not really new some of them just transitioning positions uh within the district some moving from some pair of positions into the classrooms uh so we're excited about that and they will be reporting on August 6th then all staff uh certified and classified will start on August 9th and we will have our convocation uh we are also excited to welcome Mr Buddy Barry of imminence uh schools out of Kentucky to come be our Kyo speaker that day uh he is a very exciting entertaining and energetic speaker and he's going to talk about how to set our schools on fire not literally uh but figuratively with some of the things that we can do to make sure students want to come to school make sure they're engaged when they're at school and making sure that we're all having a good time uh students first day is August 15th so we're really looking forward to that opportunity for students to get the day started uh on that Thursday and then fall practices for All Sports whether it's cross country football um volleyball and all other sports will start on August 19th uh also we've got open houses and meet the teacher nights that will be starting the week of August 12th and then the last thing we really want to talk about is we started pre-enrollment or enrollment back in May so that we could use that data to help us set for our non-resident enrollment policy that we were required to do by the state and then as of uh this point in time now we need to start finishing our enrollment and paying our fees so we can really solidify our numbers and organize our class sizes so if you haven't had the opportunity to enroll yet uh please do uh you can go to usd26.28 Power School Parent Portal and get started uh at that point in time if you do have any questions please reach out to your uh building's office whether it's at CW Sims or at the high school uh some of the things that we're going to talk about that are changes for this year where we have some same expectations but we have a little bit of different uh changes uh first is the response to behavior so as we reviewed previously last year uh the board adopted and approved a response to behavior plan a four tier plan uh that all buildings will be enacting this year and be utilizing for uh helping to understand how to respond to behavior and what are some minor and or major conse or major behaviors and what are the potential consequences uh for those so if you have some questions about that or uh don't remember what we discussed last spring uh please review the student handbooks uh as you're going through this year uh next thing that we're going to talk about is attendance changes uh for 2425 so next month's uh Clear Water Clarity will go into more depth and more Det detail but what we do know is that students that Miss 10% or more of schools are considered chronically absent and when students are chronically absent um their ability to graduate on time with their peers their ability to stay on track with their peers academically as well socially starts to dramatically fall off and so we're going to start uh having some stronger communication practices between the buildings and parents as to how many dates uh students have missed um and so we'll be able to go over that more in depth in detail and really talk about the import importance of making sure students are coming to school now again some of these attendance pieces do are only for uh non-academic reasons so students are absence due to Athletics due to U FCCLA uh due Scholars Bowl forensics things like that school activities that does not count against their attendance these are only for non-academic reasons such as being sick out of town um vacations those types of things and so we'll talk again more in depth about that next months uh doing that uh there are some unique differences in each building a little bit with some of the attendance and the behavior in terms of the response so do make sure that you check with each building about those specific changes uh but for the most part all three buildings have the same language in terms of um how many days are allowed to be missed before we we start requiring doctor's notes Andor notes from wherever the visit was uh to and also the same thing with our four tiers of behavior with having two minors and two major uh levels the last thing that was really kind of a change as we get started it'll be for the class of 2028 so it's this year's freshman and younger there were some graduation requirement changes that were made by ksde um we approved those back in March February and March of last year um the changes do not change a whole lot for uh USD 264 a lot of the main changes are going to be around financial literacy is required for all students now instead of uh as an optional class um you also have to take three and a half credits um of electives that are geared toward boards their individual plan of study um and so there's some of those unique changes that we'll be going through and so the counselors at the high school will be able to help students with that as well when so here's some important dates as we're coming up uh getting started through these first couple weeks in August the first one that we really want to mention is August 13th so Elementary West will have their Meet the Teacher Night at 5:00 P PM uh so please come out and meet the teacher uh be able to drop off your um school supplies in the room and see the building and then be able to also visit with Mrs loots and her staff as well as I'll plan on being there that night as well if you want to come up and visit with me also on uh August 13th the high school and middle school fall Sports parent meeting will be happening at the high school in the High School auditorium starting at 6 pm.

on okay good evening I would like to call the meeting of the Berlin Boon Regional school committee to order just a reminder that this meeting is being recorded your image and or voice may be broadcast please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all do not believe we have any public comments does anybody have any Communications oh yes uh yes um I uh nesdc got back or NE got back to me with some attachments on um cple information helping for superintendent search so I put for those to the the drive okay great all right thank you all right so as everyone knows tonight we are here uh very sad um to accept the retirement of superintendent Costello so I have prepared just a very brief um statement that I would like to make tonight I would just like to say a few words about a remarkable leader who has dedicated the better part of her life to shaping the future of our schools and by extension our community it is with a mixture of admiration and sadness that the time has come to say farewell to our esteemed superintendent Carol Costello as she embarks on a well-deserved retirement Carol's unwavering commitment to education has left an unforgettable mark on our schools and our hearts Carol has always been more than just a leader she has been a mentor a cheerleader a source of inspiration and to me I am very lucky to call her a friend her passion for education and her dedication to our children have been the driving forces behind countless successes it is clear that her impact will be felt for generations to come as she steps into this new chapter of her life I want her to know how deeply grateful this district is for her service I wish her nothing but joy and fulfillment in her retirement may be filled with relaxation adventure and all the happiness she so richly deserves thank you Carol for everything your legacy will continue to inspire and guide us and you will always be a cherished part of our bbrsd family congratulations on your retirement so she is not here tonight not because she do not want to come but she already had vacation planned so hopefully she will watch the recording and just know that um we all wish her well okay so next we are going to briefly discuss the process to fill the role of superintendent um right now the best course of action since we have such a brief period of time before the start of school the school committee is going to enter into executive session we're going to discuss a few candidates we have for an intrum we'll decide uh the term of the inum and um discuss the candidates we have and then we will take it from there but what we're hoping to do is have someone fill the gap and then do a formal search during the next school year where we'll have a committee we'll have multiple people that are interested um serve on this committee it's just not something we could pull together right now with three weeks to go before the start of school okay so um did anyone have any comments they'd like to make about the process questions or should we just move to vote can you share with people what the Gap is for that time frers so I mean it can be anything that we want we can decide for six months we can do it for a year um I personally think maybe it makes sense to to have someone in for the full school year um that's you know something that might be negotiable with whatever candidates we have and then obviously once the committee has vetted out the candidates will it will be discussed in Open Session the salary and um and the terms of contract that's public but this is just a preliminary discussion to discuss the strategy with respect to the preliminary candidates um anything else all right so we are going to enter into executive session and this is based on um executive session number eight the best practices for public officials this is based on number eight to consider or interview applicants for employment or appointment by a preliminary screening committee if the chair declares that an open meeting will have a detrimental effect in obtaining qualified applicants which I have provided however that this Clause shall not apply to any meeting including meetings of preliminary screening committee to consider and interview applicants who have passed a prior preliminary screening okay so I'm going to do a roll call we're going to enter into executive session and we will not turn into uh into Open session so could I please have a motion to exit close session and enter into executive session without returning into Open Session Julie Lai all right R PA Lisa Mike Julie Lori I Jess all right I'm and I as well thank you so much that's close session

so if you have a son or daughter that is participating in a fall sport this year for the high school or the middle school you'll be encouraged to attend that also on August 14th uh cims Intermediate Middle School will be having their open house starting at 5 :30 p.m. so we encourage all families and students to be able to attend that on August 14th also the Freshman uh CHS freshman so that class of 2028 will be having their orientation from 8:00 a.m.

to noon and so all freshman will be going through that time as the National Honor Society and stuco members uh take the students through some morning activities to get them used to the building and get them excited about coming to school and then August 15th and 16th so that Thursday and Friday while everyone is starting school uh prek will be having their meet the teacher time for prek parents and students to be able to come in and take a look at the building and meet their teachers uh for that as we mentioned we're also excited to say that we added a fifth section of prek um due to the amount of numbers that we have so we will actually be having three morning sections of prek and two afternoon sections of prek we're excited about that growth um there so this year our theme has changed a little bit we're still sticking with uh being one uh so we're still one team one family one District as our vision statement is but this year we're going to focus on being one degree more and we're really referencing the difference there between 211° F and2 degrees Fahrenheit so 21 degrees Fahrenheit water is extremely warm but it doesn't do anything it's just hot at 22 degrees when water starts to boil that one degree difference it can power a steam engine and make a a you know massive locomotive move and so that's what we're talking about this year is we want to be one degree more take ourselves one degree more so we can move from just hot water to Boiling Water and Power steam engine again if you have any questions or if you'd ever like to visit just contact me my email address is there my office phone number is there also you can follow us on Twitter to be able to kind of keep up with updates and as always our social media on Facebook Instagram and Twitter from the district is constantly updated with new information so we look forward to getting the school year started year two for me uh I'm also excited about this opportunity of now being in the community for a year now being here full-time and being able to understand uh what the Community Values and be able to continue to strive for greatness and Achieve our strategic plan goals that the board has set so again thank you and have a great time and we will hope to see everybody out at open houses and meet the teacher nights

okay we're live we're good okay we're good United States get in yes hello we're about to do roll [Music] call Mr mg yes Mrs alen Mr okay no call to approve the agenda motion by Ruth second by Cy call thank you any discussion M yes Mrs Le yes Mr M yes M Alan M yes and for our to to approve [Music] second Kelly Andrew Mrs yes Mr Mr MCG yes Mrs Alan yes yeah Mr on the so anybody have any have a great school year thank you and we have our pins that came in um for the year that say a great education starts with a great team so at our next board meeting uh we will give you your pins and I believe everybody has their Continental shirt so we will be um having me meet and greet this evening at 4:30 um and we will be at triple play um at about 6:30 6:30 I think yeah 6:30 so tonight for staff meet and greet so everybody's buying their own food and they are providing wrist bends um for kids at a discounted rate I think the kids for 20 bucks yeah so so we'll just be at triple play so in the back room there so stop by if you can but we just want to say thank you again for all your support we're having leader and me um trainings today we had data digs the last two days which have been pretty amazing um have being able for teams to cross collaborate and talk to each other about the kids that students are receiving so we can get the ground running meeting their needs so thank you great so are you all you're all staed up right we're all staed yes we are um we are Contracting out a psychologist um and then we do have our speech um teacher did re so we are with that position is posted but we we can get through the next two three weeks before we start to give services so we're not too worried about that right now but we will be replacing the speech language pathologist teer okay that and a half minute meeting I'll sounds good thank you do you need me to go in and sign sign no we don't have anything to be signed today we're good okay okay thank you bye bye bye have a good day bye bye