Select Board, September 1, 2026

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.

athleticsbudgetbudget fy26budget fy27contracts and unionselectionsfacilitiesfeesfree cashhealth insurancehigh schoolhiringhousinglegalmiddle schoolpersonnelpolicypublic safetyrecreationroads and dpwschool choiceseniorsstaffingstate aidtown meetingtransferstransportationwarrant articlewater sewer

Present: Renee Emkey (Chair, Select Board); Tom (Alonzo) (Select Board member); Damon (Select Board member); Glenn McLeod (Select Board member); Brian Lehtinen (Select Board member); Jen (Town Manager); Brian Fernandez (new Principal Assessor); Matt Nazarenko (petitioner, Article 3, remote); Peter Beard Moore (Vice Chairman, Finance Committee). 3 of 9 matched to the board’s posted roster; the rest, in italics, are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 9:27approve the Eagle House supporters' request for a toll booth in town center on Saturday, October 24th, 9 to 1 — moved by a board member (as heard), as heardpassed 4-0-1 (one abstention)
2. ▶ 57:59select board recommend approval of Article One at $397,189 (the net education-aid figure rather than the school committee's requested $418,0056) — moved by Tom (Alonzo), as heard, as heardpassed, unanimous
3. ▶ 1:24:56accept the letter to the Speaker and Senate President (as amended) supporting the Question 1 legislative audit, and send it to the Speaker, Senate President, and the local legislative delegationpassed, unanimous
4. ▶ 1:36:46establish a special revenue fund seeded with $36,000 of RAP (Winter Recovery Assistance Program) money, to serve as the funding source for Article 3 (middle school sports restoration)passed, unanimous

And 2 procedural: approve multiple sets of minutes (october 24 2025 through may 5 2026, as listed) (▶ 1:38:31); adjourn at 8:47 p.m. (▶ 1:45:12).

Transfers

The money

1. ▶ 12:41Article 3 - middle school sports restoration

   The petitioner's original ask was reduced after high school athletic transportation was separately funded through the revolving account and additional state aid; board members pressed on how the figure dropped so much and whether it was net of athletic fee revenue.

   as heard:151,000$60,00055415,541$5000$15,000$35,54130,308$150,000$30,000$120,000

2. ▶ 26:14Athletic transportation line (FY27 budget)

   The FY27 budget's athletic transportation line was cut; the board reviewed how the school department funded high school transportation back from the revolving account and additional state aid freed up by a reading grant.

   as heard:$127,00060,00050,000$10,000109,000104

3. ▶ 30:50Athletic fees (middle/high school)

   Members discussed current and expected athletic fee levels and whether middle school sports could be largely self-funding through fees.

   as heard:$400275$75350$9000

4. ▶ 35:30Article 1 - additional state aid to school FY27 operating budget

   The school committee requested the full receipts-side increase, but a board member argued the appropriation should be the net education-aid figure after backing out school-choice/charter tuition pass-through and assessment increases not related to education aid.

   as heard:$418,0056$15,326$20,867$397,189$5,50615,541

5. ▶ 52:58FY26 snow and ice deficit / Winter Recovery Assistance Program (RAP)

   The town's FY26 snow and ice deficit was outlined along with the free cash already appropriated toward it in May and the RAP allocation received from the state, which DLS recommended using to fully cure the deficit before deciding what to do with the remainder.

   as heard:691,000$520,000171,000$228,154.34171,000$57,154.34

6. ▶ 56:54RAP remainder / Article 3 funding split

   The board discussed splitting the remaining RAP balance between free cash and a new special revenue fund, ultimately settling on an amount to seed the fund as the funding source for Article 3.

   as heard:30,3827,00035,849$36,000

7. ▶ 1:01:10FY26 school department year-end (preliminary)

   The Town Manager reported a preliminary projection of unexpended FY26 school appropriations against the full omnibus budget, noting the figures will move as close-out continues, and flagged funding that had been shifted from the operating budget to a grant.

   as heard:$4700$600,0001.63 million287,000

8. ▶ 1:04:10Municipal aggregation electricity rate

   The town selected a 24-month supply rate through First Point Power for the Community Choice Power aggregation program rather than locking in longer, citing market volatility, at a rate lower than Unitil's current rate.

   as heard:$16.8 per kilowatt hour$18.92

9. ▶ 1:39:49Water commitment, first quarterly billing FY27

   The board was asked to sign the first quarterly water billing commitment for FY27.

   as heard:$19,892

10. ▶ 1:43:10School level-service budget shortfall (public comment)

    A resident stated the schools are operating well below what a level-service budget required and that a recent net increase in state aid from the Governor's budget should be directed entirely to the school department.

    as heard:$800,000470,000

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 4:28Staff will gather addresses from residents who did not receive special town meeting postcards and raise it with the post office as a possible EDDM delivery issue
• ▶ 48:51The school committee indicated it would vote to spend Article 3 money consistent with the article's intent (restoring middle school sports) if the article passes, since the article language itself is not legally binding on how the school committee spends a supplemental appropriation
• ▶ 1:08:17The personnel committee will hold an off-cycle meeting to review the job description for the vacant data collector position before it can be posted
• ▶ 1:14:42Scheduled the next select board 'chat' session for Wednesday, September 30th, 6 to 7 p.m., likely at the library
• ▶ 1:10:56Agreed to add the town's position on AI data centers to a future select board agenda

Public comment

1. ▶ 2:01did not receive the EDDM postcard notice for the special town meeting and heard from neighbors who also did not receive one — Tim Murphy, as heard, resident, 97 Island Road
2. ▶ 7:21requested permission for the Eagle House supporters' annual toll booth fundraiser in town center on Saturday, October 24th — Nicole Waters, as heard, representing the Eagle House supporters
3. ▶ 1:42:27clarified her earlier finance committee comment about the $5,000 figure, saying the real issue is that the schools are operating with far less than the level-service budget required and that new state aid should go to the schools — Anna Lockwood, as heard

Where the time went

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

• warrant article60 min · 58%
• town meeting55 min · 53%
• state aid25 min · 24%
• athletics23 min · 23%
• budget fy2620 min · 19%
• town departments13 min · 12%
• transfers11 min · 11%
• personnel11 min · 10%
• policy10 min · 10%
• public comment6 min · 6%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:11Call to order, Pledge of Allegiance, announcements (special town meeting Thursday, polls open)informational · 1:28 long · town meeting
2. ▶ 1:39Public comment: special town meeting postcard/notice not received by some residentsno vote; staff to follow up with post office · 3:10 long · public comment, town meeting
3. ▶ 4:49Board comment on a school committee remark about not 'squabbling' over $5,000informational · 2:10 long · budget
4. ▶ 6:59Eagle House supporters toll booth fundraiser applicationvoted, passed 4-0-1 · 2:50 long
5. ▶ 9:49Introduction of new Principal Assessor Brian Fernandezinformational · 2:06 long · personnel, town departments
6. ▶ 11:55Special town meeting Article 3: restoring cut middle school and select high school sports and their funding sourcediscussed only; no vote taken, deferred to the WRAP discussion / town meeting floor · 23:28 long · athletics, town meeting, warrant article
7. ▶ 35:23Special town meeting Article 1: appropriating additional state aid to the FY27 school operating budget (gross vs. net figure)voted; board recommended $397,189 (net), passed unanimously · 25:06 long · state aid, town meeting, warrant article
8. ▶ 1:00:56Town Manager's report: FY26 preliminary closeout/review proposal, municipal aggregation, training, personnel committee, Touch a Truck, employee appreciation, recruitment and a resignationinformational · 8:44 long · budget fy26, personnel, town departments
9. ▶ 1:09:40Select board 'chat' session recap and scheduling of the next sessionscheduled: Wednesday, September 30th, 6-7 p.m. · 5:45 long
10. ▶ 1:15:25Letter to state legislative leaders supporting the Question 1 audit of the legislaturevoted, amended and passed unanimously · 10:17 long · policy
11. ▶ 1:25:42Winter Recovery Assistance Program (RAP) funds: curing the FY26 snow and ice deficit and funding Article 3 via a new special revenue fundvoted; special revenue fund of $36,000 created, passed unanimously · 11:25 long · budget fy26, transfers, warrant article
12. ▶ 1:37:07Municipal buildings / TC Passos senior housing discussioninformational · 1:03 long · facilities, housing, seniors
13. ▶ 1:38:10Approval of prior meeting minutes and signing of a water commitmentvoted; minutes passed 3-0-2; water commitment signed · 1:45 long · town meeting, water sewer
14. ▶ 1:40:20Committee reports: finance committee and stormwater task force updateinformational · 1:45 long · roads and dpw, town departments
15. ▶ 1:42:05Public comment: clarification on school funding shortfall and the $5,000 remarkinformational · 3:07 long · budget, public comment
16. ▶ 1:45:12Adjournmentvoted, passed · 0:08 long

What the captions could not carry

• The exact figure for the school committee's Article 1 request is rendered inconsistently as '$418,0056' and '$418,056' in the captions.
• The Town Manager's preliminary FY26 unexpended-funds range is captioned as 'between $4700 and $600,000', which appears to be a mis-transcription of a dollar range (likely $400,000-$600,000).
• A figure referenced as '$5,5061' appears to be a caption error for $5,541.
• Some cross-talk during the Article 3 discussion between board members and Matt Nazarenko produced garbled or overlapping numbers around the $30,000-$36,000 range.
• Speaker identity between 'Mr. Alonzo' and 'Mr. McLeod' during the override/state-aid discussion around t=3248-3268 is not clearly distinguishable in the captions.
• Individual votes (aye/nay) by named member on the toll booth motion are not clearly attributable beyond the overall 4-0-1 count.

Written 2026-09-11 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/select-board/2026-09-01-kG4KE9VgCdY.json — 2,124 caption segments, sha256 25615dc7ba04…. All recorded meetings.