Select Board, December 8, 2020

The town published an agenda for this meeting. No minutes have been published; the recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

budgetbudget fy28contracts and unionseconomic developmentfacilitiesfree cashhealth insurancehiringlegalpersonnelpolicypublic commentpublic safetytown departments

Present: Mr. Chair (Tom) (chair); Ms. Adams (member); Mr. Jefferies (member); Mr. Dwyer (member, remote); Mr. Moreno/Mourinho (member); Madam Town Manager (town manager); Chief Gamel (police chief); Mr. Bernie (assistant town manager). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 7:41Waive the town's right of first refusal for 360 Flat Hill Road (Chapter 61A) — moved by a member, as heardpassed
2. ▶ 55:58Ratify town manager's appointment of Jeffrey Thibodeau as lieutenant — moved by Ms. Adams, as heardpassed
3. ▶ 1:04:20Appoint Joshua Matthew as sergeantpassed
4. ▶ 1:10:13Appoint Jeffrey Hill as full-time police officerpassed
5. ▶ 1:17:07Ratify appointment of Nicholas Moreno as full-time police officer — moved by Ms. Adams, as heardpassed
6. ▶ 1:36:45Approve 2021 alcohol license renewals including Lonnie's Orchard, contingent on 304 CMR 110 safety inspections and DOR certificates of good standingpassed 3-2
7. ▶ 1:40:40Approve 2021 auto dealer and limousine license renewals — moved by a member, as heardpassed
8. ▶ 1:45:00Approve 2021 common victualler license renewalspassed
9. ▶ 1:47:07Approve 2021 miscellaneous license renewalspassed
10. ▶ 1:48:10Approve 2021 weekday entertainment license renewalspassed

And 1 procedural: adjourn (▶ 3:06:13).

The money

1. ▶ 21:31Host community agreement revenue

   A member noted the draft pays a percentage of gross sales in a way that reads as based only on first-year sales; the board agreed it should apply to each year and sent it to town counsel.

   as heard:three percent

2. ▶ 34:24Projected cannabis gross sales

   The applicant's low-side projection of gross sales was given in answer to a member's question.

   as heard:1.2 millionthree percent

3. ▶ 17:05Reimbursement of town costs under host agreement

   A draft clause would have the company reimburse the town's costs for public meetings and consulting; the board will ask counsel to clarify it.

4. ▶ 1:52:37Free cash going into annual town meeting

   The town manager said reserves were built up so that free cash can fall back on if FY22 state aid is below FY21.

   as heard:1.8 million

5. ▶ 1:54:22Health insurance FY22

   Active health insurance cost is expected to rise no more than a set percentage because retirees are moving to Medicare plans.

   as heard:three percent

6. ▶ 1:54:22Trash and recycling contract

   The pay-as-you-throw contract expires at the end of the fiscal year and is expected to increase significantly when bid.

7. ▶ 2:03:05FY21 tax rate

   The state certified the FY21 tax rate, compared with the FY20 rate.

   as heard:17.74 cents per thousandeighteen dollars and twelve cents per thousand

8. ▶ 2:03:26Street light purchase from Unitil

   Letter of intent submitted to Unitil requesting a cost estimate, which can take up to three months.

9. ▶ 2:05:10Microenterprise assistance grants

   Regional CDBG grants are available to small businesses with up to five employees.

   as heard:ten thousand

10. ▶ 1:05:42Added police officer

    A special town meeting approved adding an officer, and the new hires fill that and a retirement backfill.

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 40:47Board will collect all questions on the draft cannabis host agreement, wait a couple of days for the applicant's input, then send them to town counsel; the community outreach meeting is aimed for mid-January with 14 days' newspaper notice.
• ▶ 19:49Town manager to ask counsel to clarify section 2.8 on cost reimbursement, the first-year-only revenue wording, and the assignment clause.
• ▶ 1:34:38Lonnie's Orchard added to the alcohol renewal list after the town manager confirmed it had paid.
• ▶ 2:52:01Each board member will submit a proposed appointment process to the town manager, who will distribute them to all five at once; the topic returns at a later workshop.
• ▶ 2:59:23Town manager to ask town counsel whether the Conservation Commission has authority to ban possession of firearms on land it controls.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Public comment

1. ▶ 3:15Trash bags are repeatedly out of stock at stores; asks the town manager and DPW director to add an option to order bags online. — Dave Pacios, 56 Whiting Street, as heard, resident

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• policy86 min · 46%
• personnel76 min · 41%
• economic development68 min · 36%
• legal52 min · 28%
• planning and zoning40 min · 21%
• public safety32 min · 17%
• hiring32 min · 17%
• budget10 min · 5%
• facilities10 min · 5%
• staffing10 min · 5%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:03Opening, remote meeting notices, pledgeinformational · 3:12 long
2. ▶ 3:15Public comment on trash bag availabilityreferred to town manager and DPW director · 2:25 long · public comment, roads and dpw
3. ▶ 5:40Right of first refusal, 360 Flat Hill Roadvoted · 2:40 long · planning and zoning, legal
4. ▶ 8:20Draft host community agreement, Green Leaf Botanicalsno vote; sent to town counsel · 37:21 long · legal, economic development, planning and zoning
5. ▶ 45:41Police appointments: lieutenant, sergeant, two officersvoted · 32:27 long · personnel, public safety, hiring
6. ▶ 1:18:082021 annual license renewalsvoted · 30:43 long · policy, economic development
7. ▶ 1:48:51Committee reportsinformational · 2:49 long · town departments
8. ▶ 1:51:36FY22 budget prioritiesinformational · 10:04 long · budget, facilities, staffing
9. ▶ 2:01:40Town manager report and COVID updateinformational · 9:24 long · superintendent report, grants
10. ▶ 2:11:04Board and committee appointment process workshophomework assigned · 43:22 long · policy, personnel
11. ▶ 2:54:26Board comments: conservation land firearms, holiday wishes, adjournmentinformational · 12:07 long · legal, policy

What the captions could not carry

• Result of the adjournment vote is not stated.
• Section of the draft agreement discussed around 960 was partly garbled.
• Individual votes on the common victualler, miscellaneous and entertainment renewals are partly captured; the alcohol vote count of three to two is stated but names are unclear except Mr. Jefferies opposed.

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 1:55:47Building management staffingHow much does the town spend on buildings, and how many staff maintain them?already answered: topic:town-facilities-grounds
• ▶ 1:54:22Trash contract rebidWhat will the new pay-as-you-throw trash and recycling contract cost?already answered: topic:town-solid-waste
• ▶ 2:03:26Street light LED conversionWhat will buying the street lights from Unitil and converting them to LED cost?

Written 2026-11-03 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/select-board/2020-12-08-5xVfD6vdxRY.json — 5,017 caption segments, sha256 9afe481b4595…. All recorded meetings.