Thumbnail for Hardwick Board of Selectmen Meeting 3/14/22

Administrative Operations, Financial Management, and Community Development Initiatives

Original title: Hardwick Board of Selectmen Meeting 3/14/22

These meeting notes are AI-generated and unofficial. They are provided for convenience and are not official Town records or approved municipal minutes. Verify all details using the source video and official Town documents.

Meeting details

Date

March 21, 2022

Duration

1h 4m

Decisions

3 recorded

Action Items

15 assigned

Summary

The Hardwick Board of Selectmen addressed critical administrative and financial matters, including significant unpaid invoices for broadcasting services and the urgent need to fill and restructure the Collector/Treasurer position, proposing a combined role and necessary software upgrades. The meeting also featured a detailed presentation from Zen Acres Farm regarding a proposed cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail facility, outlining community benefits, regulatory compliance, and security measures. Further discussions covered the upcoming Town Election warrant, the transition of EMS services from Ware to West Brookfield, and approvals for a Mass DFG land purchase, a Park and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt, and a change order for the Braintree Road project. The board also received updates on various town projects and administrative tasks.

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Discussion Highlights

Initial audio feedback and background noise occurred at the start of the meeting.
No visitors were present to offer comments.
A contractor, Richard Degon, reported six unpaid invoices totaling $1300 for broadcasting municipal meetings, with the earliest dating back to December 29th, and sought clarification on payment procedures.
The Board acknowledged the delay in payments to Richard Degon, citing a W9 issue and processing lag, with an apology from Nicole.
A dispute arose regarding the status of live streaming municipal meetings, with Richard Degon stating he was instructed to stream live on YouTube since February 28th, while Nicole initially claimed meetings were not yet broadcasting due to lack of equipment.
The critical need to fill the Collector/Treasurer position was discussed, with a strong recommendation to combine the roles.
Jessica is currently being trained on collector's software and performing interim collector duties, but this arrangement is unsustainable long-term.
Jessica was identified as a suitable candidate for the combined Collector/Treasurer role.
The board needs to create a new combined Collector/Treasurer position and include it as a line item in the FY23 budget, requiring town meeting approval.
The annual town meeting, typically held on the second Saturday in May, has not yet occurred, and the board has the authority to postpone it until June 30th.
The former collector's software is incompatible, requiring a new module (approximately $1,000 annual increase) and a one-time data migration fee of $11,300.
The Collector department requires an additional clerk, with an estimated combined cost of two positions at $90,000 annually.
Concerns were raised about past unimplemented recommendations from the Department of Revenue (DOR) and Division of Local Services (DLS), emphasizing the need for robust systems and compliance due to external scrutiny.
Zen Acres Farm representatives, Chris Snow and Rebecca Adams, presented their proposal for a cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail facility, emphasizing high-paying local jobs and strict regulatory compliance.
The proposed Zen Acres facility includes 100,000 sq ft cultivation (60,000 sq ft outdoor, 40,000 sq ft indoor/greenhouse), 20,000 sq ft manufacturing, and 5,000 sq ft retail space, with retail hours 8 AM - 10 PM, Monday through Sunday, and no delivery services.
Zen Acres committed to local hiring, utilizing local businesses, providing one public health education program, an annual Community Impact Fee of 2.5% of gross revenue, an additional $20,000 annually for town discretionary use, and $5,000 annually for non-profit groups.
The Zen Acres facility will adhere to all state laws, town rules, police, and fire regulations, with a detailed security plan to be presented at community outreach meetings and reviewed by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), Police, and Fire Departments.
On-site consumption, loitering, littering, and entry for individuals under 21 are prohibited at the Zen Acres facility.
Extensive and detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will cover all operational aspects of the Zen Acres facility, with ongoing communication with the town.
The Zen Acres project is located on a 360-acre property, with only a portion used for the facility, and the remaining land for agricultural purposes.
The Zen Acres project site is on a hill, set back from the road, with greenhouses expected to be invisible from the road.
Concerns were raised regarding light issues and the need for soil samples for the Zen Acres project.
The board cannot guarantee future land use for the Zen Acres property won't include non-cannabis applications, but dirt bike racing is explicitly ruled out.
Community meetings for the Zen Acres project cannot be scheduled until an agreement is approved, and past confusion regarding the approval process was noted.
The Chief of Police's input and approval are considered crucial for the Zen Acres project progression.
Difficulty hearing on Zoom when multiple people speak simultaneously was noted.
Discussion regarding the level of detail required for site plans for the Zen Acres project, confirming basic plans are acceptable for now but subject to change after comprehensive architectural review.
The Cannabis Control Commission also requires review and inspection for election-related matters.
The dog warrant was signed in May of the previous year and is valid until May 1st, so it is not needed at this meeting.
The Ambulance Feasibility Study Committee (AFSC) recommended the town enter an agreement with West Brookfield Ambulance for EMS services, while continuing to explore establishing Hardwick's own service.
West Brookfield Ambulance has ALS certification and is working on additional certification for transport to Palmer.
It was informally learned that Ware had voted to terminate their contract with Hardwick last Monday night (March 7th), though formal notification and a specific termination date are pending, assumed to be June 30th.
Concerns were raised about past issues with West Brookfield and the feasibility of a new agreement, and the possibility of prorated reimbursement if Ware leaves before the 12-month contract period.
The board agreed it would be best to finish out the current fiscal year with Ware (until June 30th) for EMS services and then transition to a new provider starting July 1st.
The Mass Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is considering purchasing land in Hardwick (off North Road) and requested a letter of support from the town to expedite closing.
The DFG purchase will proceed regardless of the town's letter, with back taxes paid and full taxes paid going forward, and the land managed for habitat.
The Park and Recreation Committee requested approval to hold their first annual Easter Egg Hunt at Memorial Park on April 10th at 1 PM, sponsored by Eagle Hill with a board member donating the bunny costume.
A change order for $2,288.47 was requested for the Braintree Road project due to unforeseen subsurface conditions, requiring replacement of two catch basins and additional water services.
The change order costs for the Braintree Road project will be covered by the project's grant contingency fund.
Confidential mediation with MIAA is ongoing.
The town audit is ongoing, with staff providing significant assistance.
An unspecified "YouTube issue" was noted.
Census forms have been delayed for the third time, and supplies have not yet been received.
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) training sessions are scheduled for March 24th and 31st, 5 PM - 8 PM, at Town Hall, required for a specific designation.
A Planning Board meeting with a Boston representative went well.
A meeting was held on March 1st regarding the proposed removal of the Swift River Dam near White Pond, viewed positively as the state moves to return rivers to their natural state.
An IT contract is coming due and will be put out to bid.
The town received a "do-over" to correctly report FEMA funds, avoiding the need to repay approximately $179,856.
Two Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) hearings are scheduled for March 28th for a golf course and a new convenience store called "Old Furnace Country Store."
A new local paper, "The Monson Palmer Reminder," launching April 7th, will cover several towns including Hardwick and be delivered free to every home.

Transcript (9,367 words)

Lightly cleaned for readability. Each timestamp opens the video at that point.

00:00:00
One nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice
00:00:22
Make everybody dizzy all right oh there's no visitors okay perfect anyone on zoom i can't see who's on zoom does anybody have any comments it's ann barnes hi when you get to the zen can you
00:00:43
Explain what they want to do and what the uh dca approval is yeah we're gonna we're gonna have a conversation about that shortly okay thank you for sure thank you okay
00:01:02
Someone have their hand up kelly i don't know if that's it or not may i speak yep can you just identify yourself please of course my name is richard
00:01:21
Diegon how are you folks doing tonight good how are you i'm okay uh if you're not familiar with my name uh you folks and myself entered into a contract to broadcast these meetings on youtube okay um and the reason why i'm contacting you tonight is because i'm having a little bit of difficulty
00:01:39
Getting my invoices paid if you will humor me i'd like to take you through a little timeline on december 29th i submitted two invoices on february 8th i sent a follow-up email i received a single line reply submitting this week on february 23rd i followed again
00:01:58
Regarding the december invoices on february 28th i received another reply saying check would be sent out this week on december on february 28th i also sent an additional two emails on march 10th march 11th and today at noon time i left and called left
00:02:16
Voicemail excuse me i called and left voicemails asking for a call back regarding these invoices submitted in december did not receive a call and that's why i'm here speaking with you folks tonight we now have a total of six unpaid invoices four which have been submitted for a

[00:00:00] one nation [00:00:01] under god indivisible with liberty and [00:00:04] justice [00:00:22] make everybody dizzy [00:00:26] all right [00:00:30] oh there's no visitors okay perfect [00:00:32] anyone on zoom i can't see who's on zoom [00:00:34] does anybody have any comments [00:00:36] it's ann barnes [00:00:39] hi when you get to the zen can you [00:00:43] explain [00:00:44] what they want to do and what the uh dca [00:00:47] approval is [00:00:49] yeah we're gonna we're gonna have a [00:00:50] conversation about that shortly [00:00:52] okay thank you for sure thank you [00:00:56] okay [00:01:02] someone have their hand up kelly [00:01:08] i don't know if that's it or not [00:01:12] may i speak [00:01:18] yep can you just identify yourself [00:01:19] please of course my name is richard [00:01:21] diegon how are you folks doing tonight [00:01:24] good how are you [00:01:25] i'm okay uh if you're not familiar with [00:01:27] my name uh you folks and myself entered [00:01:29] into a contract [00:01:30] um to broadcast these meetings on [00:01:32] youtube [00:01:34] okay um and the reason why i'm [00:01:35] contacting you tonight is because i'm [00:01:37] having a little bit of difficulty uh [00:01:39] getting my invoices paid [00:01:42] if you will humor me i'd like to take [00:01:44] you through a little timeline on [00:01:45] december 29th i submitted two invoices [00:01:48] on february 8th i sent a follow-up email [00:01:51] i received a single line reply [00:01:53] submitting this week [00:01:55] on february 23rd i followed again [00:01:58] regarding the december invoices [00:02:00] on february 28th i received another [00:02:03] reply saying check would be sent out [00:02:05] this week [00:02:07] on december on february 28th i also sent [00:02:09] an additional two emails [00:02:11] on march 10th march 11th and today at [00:02:14] noon time i left and called left [00:02:16] voicemail excuse me i called and left [00:02:19] voicemails asking for a call back [00:02:21] regarding these invoices submitted in [00:02:23] december [00:02:24] did not receive a call and that's why [00:02:26] i'm here speaking with you folks tonight [00:02:29] uh we now have a total of six unpaid [00:02:31] invoices [00:02:32] four which have been submitted for a [00:02:35] total load of thirteen hundred dollars [00:02:37] um i would submit to you that this is [00:02:39] not an ideal way to start a relationship [00:02:43] and i would like to know what the proper [00:02:44] way is to go about submitting and [00:02:47] receiving payments to these invoices [00:02:49] because clearly i'm not doing it the [00:02:51] proper way at this time [00:02:53] okay i'm gonna actually turn this over [00:02:56] to nicole um because she would be in [00:02:58] charge of getting that cared up for you [00:03:00] okay [00:03:02] hey rick and everyone else [00:03:04] um [00:03:05] yeah i'm sorry i didn't call you back [00:03:07] today i actually have you in an email [00:03:10] waiting to be sent to you but as you [00:03:12] know or if you don't know we have [00:03:13] accountants that are not on site so i [00:03:16] rely on getting back to them with emails [00:03:18] and phone calls [00:03:20] i [00:03:20] emailed them this morning to make sure [00:03:23] that it was in the war and i didn't want [00:03:25] to send it to you [00:03:26] um [00:03:27] you know until i know for sure that it's [00:03:29] in the warrant so if you don't mind um i [00:03:32] think we should talk about this tomorrow [00:03:34] um this isn't [00:03:36] you know this isn't really appropriate [00:03:38] right at this time and place so [00:03:40] um [00:03:41] i will absolutely call you tomorrow [00:03:43] morning and as soon as i hear back from [00:03:45] the accountants we did have issues [00:03:46] because i needed your w-9s so it you [00:03:49] know we there was a little bit of lag i [00:03:50] know and i apologize it's all on me but [00:03:53] i really think that we need to talk [00:03:54] one-on-one tomorrow [00:03:56] well i've attempted to contact you [00:03:58] several times voicemails in the last [00:04:01] three business days and these invoices [00:04:03] were submitted on december 28th [00:04:05] i will call you tomorrow [00:04:08] fantastic i look forward to it i will [00:04:10] call you tomorrow thank you i look [00:04:12] forward to your call okay thank you [00:04:18] okay anybody else [00:04:23] so can we can we clarify i do see that [00:04:25] we're on tv are these being broadcast [00:04:27] now these meetings [00:04:31] we do have somebody that says acting tv [00:04:34] on [00:04:34] that's him [00:04:36] okay um [00:04:37] so [00:04:39] we're not yet because we don't have the [00:04:41] equipment so i was [00:04:43] you know i told him that not yet there's [00:04:45] no there's no need for us at the moment [00:04:50] uh actually if if i may speak again [00:04:53] i was told to begin broadcasting these [00:04:55] meetings on march 28th and i've heard [00:04:58] nothing otherwise [00:05:01] because we don't have the equipment [00:05:03] rick [00:05:05] i wanted to do this all at once when [00:05:06] we're broadcasting to be able to tell [00:05:08] everybody that this is where we're at [00:05:10] these meetings are being streamed live [00:05:13] on youtube [00:05:14] i was i was asked to begin streaming [00:05:17] these meetings on march 28th [00:05:19] which is what i did and i have not been [00:05:21] informed otherwise [00:05:23] so if you don't want this meeting stream [00:05:25] now [00:05:27] i will end the broadcast excuse me [00:05:28] february 28th i apologize i misspoke [00:05:31] certainly clarify this [00:05:33] tomorrow [00:05:34] and i will make sure [00:05:41] [Music] [00:05:47] thank you [00:05:54] would you like me to end this this [00:05:56] excuse me this meeting is currently [00:05:58] being streamed live on youtube [00:06:01] would you like me to end that stream [00:06:07] okay [00:06:08] so we've got some old business um [00:06:11] collection [00:06:12] uh [00:06:13] discussion on [00:06:14] the collector treasurer position [00:06:17] and a clerk for finance um [00:06:20] do you want to talk a little bit about [00:06:22] that yeah i would if you don't i wanted [00:06:23] to hopefully keep it on the agenda [00:06:27] because it's very important that this [00:06:30] position gets filled and obviously as [00:06:32] you know from an email that i had sent [00:06:34] regarding the dls and [00:06:36] their work you know it's not a [00:06:38] requirement but it's strongly [00:06:39] recommended that you combine these [00:06:40] positions especially in the event [00:06:42] there's a vacancy and so [00:06:45] i'm working on the back side really [00:06:48] trying to get um [00:06:50] jessica and i up to speed on the [00:06:52] collector's [00:06:53] software right now so we can do a lot of [00:06:55] the work [00:06:56] um and she's really good at all of the [00:07:00] collector work so um you know she's she [00:07:03] was on there last week posting the [00:07:04] payments but i i mean we have to we have [00:07:07] to formally do something soon because we [00:07:11] just can't afford sarah anymore or for [00:07:13] much longer [00:07:14] um [00:07:28] that we clear this up and i really want [00:07:31] to put [00:07:32] a clerk position [00:07:34] in this in this department and with a [00:07:37] with a combined treasure collector [00:07:40] um [00:07:41] and [00:07:43] i think you know i'm still of the mind [00:07:45] that jessica is the perfect candidate [00:07:47] for it she's here um and uh she's [00:07:51] capable and i've [00:07:52] watched her over the past seven months [00:07:54] and i'm [00:07:55] i'm really [00:07:56] um [00:07:57] i'm really confident that she can do it [00:07:59] as well or other people that work with [00:08:00] her they've found the interim collector [00:08:03] um so what we'll need to do very soon is [00:08:06] as um [00:08:08] i don't know exactly what the process is [00:08:10] if [00:08:36] depending on how the vote grows [00:08:51] i think it all kind of has to happen [00:08:53] during town okay so i have the language [00:08:55] for the article from attorney so i have [00:08:58] that already [00:09:00] um so we need to just keep keeping yeah [00:09:03] so that's what i'm you know i just want [00:09:04] to make sure that yeah [00:09:06] you know depending [00:09:21] our violence it's supposed to be the [00:09:22] second saturday [00:09:23] and that hasn't happened since what we [00:09:25] did since already so [00:09:27] what happens is a board you but you're [00:09:30] allowed to vote to postpone okay and [00:09:32] that's what has been happening so you [00:09:35] know if you decide that you want [00:09:37] what you need to do is you need to make [00:09:39] you need to vote to postpone if you're [00:09:40] not going to hold on [00:09:41] if you're going to hold it in june or [00:09:42] whatever that's fine you don't have to [00:09:44] pick a date when you vote to postpone [00:09:46] but it has to be done by june 30. so [00:09:50] there's still there's still time for all [00:09:52] of this but depending on how quickly you [00:09:54] want it [00:09:56] so the first thing is seven days from [00:09:57] here [00:09:58] it's seven for the annual seventh of the [00:10:00] election especially [00:10:01] there's not you shouldn't i strongly [00:10:03] recommend you do not hold a special [00:10:04] because you can hold any articles that [00:10:06] you want at the end [00:10:08] exactly [00:10:10] so it's really a question of how quickly [00:10:12] you want to try and get this to the [00:10:14] general courts [00:10:15] they can you know authorize the language [00:10:17] that allows us to combine it had it you [00:10:20] know when we switched it from an [00:10:21] elective [00:10:24] well seven days seven days seven days [00:10:28] no seven this is seven pounds [00:10:40] that's the whole point so [00:10:57] so [00:10:57] we have um [00:11:08] so [00:11:08] to add a module to the software that we [00:11:11] have now [00:11:12] um [00:11:13] will bring us up [00:11:15] about a thousand dollars a year right [00:11:17] now it's 69.08 [00:11:19] and the new proposal [00:11:21] will be 79.85 [00:11:24] so are there any like one-time fees of [00:11:27] doing it [00:11:29] no [00:11:30] it's all spread out for six years but in [00:11:33] three-year contracts [00:11:35] okay so there's no like [00:11:37] because all that information must have [00:11:39] to be moved over to beta yeah [00:11:41] there's no transition oh yes there is [00:11:44] like there's gotta be something there [00:11:47] okay that's the big yeah [00:11:49] okay so that so [00:11:51] but i mean in the long run [00:12:09] software that you really really should [00:12:10] have had all along i don't disagree [00:12:13] again i think that's something that [00:12:15] needs to be funded [00:12:18] yeah so that's that's the uh [00:12:36] the department does need a clerk in [00:12:37] order for this to work and um you know [00:12:40] anyone feelers anyone who knows anyone [00:12:43] um [00:12:44] because [00:12:45] that will that will be critical to it [00:12:47] being able to work for her because she [00:12:49] can't do both jobs alone you know no one [00:12:52] person can do both jobs alone [00:12:54] so to have that person in there um i [00:12:57] don't think the budget would have to [00:12:59] transition much correctly paul correct [00:13:01] because the two positions [00:13:12] i think together they could you know [00:13:15] yeah but this so this is why i couldn't [00:13:17] you know keep leaving it [00:13:22] what i will say is that dor dls came in [00:13:25] here [00:13:26] uh [00:13:27] 10 years ago maybe maybe not quite 10 [00:13:29] years ago and they made a lot of [00:13:31] recommendations that we're not following [00:13:34] and so to ask them to come back in [00:13:37] and do an evaluation again on how things [00:13:40] are running and not do things that [00:13:42] they're suggesting [00:13:44] would [00:13:45] not [00:13:46] not do us any good they're just they're [00:13:48] going to do this to us and so we you [00:13:50] know i think julie mentioned in a in a [00:13:52] prior meeting like we have eyes on us [00:13:54] with everything going on right now [00:13:56] um [00:13:58] there are you know usda and everything [00:14:00] else like we have to be on top of our [00:14:02] game if this gets us there [00:14:04] we really strongly have to it's one [00:14:06] component yeah yeah so we have to keep [00:14:09] pushing you know [00:14:10] kind of this along and [00:14:13] figure [00:14:14] out okay [00:14:16] i won't beat that dead boss but that's [00:14:18] where we are on that so we can keep [00:14:20] talking about that upcoming meetings and [00:14:23] and do just that for the you know the [00:14:25] town meeting it does have to go [00:14:27] you know that's the reality [00:14:32] uh the next thing [00:14:34] uh why don't you know i'm gonna we have [00:14:36] zen acres farm in the room so rather [00:14:39] than maybe wait for our whole meeting [00:14:41] which is you know i'm sure you're just [00:14:42] thrilled to hear about the little old [00:14:44] time of hard work but you're in front of [00:14:46] us so [00:14:47] um we can we can skip ahead to you folks [00:14:51] um and i what i will ask is if you can [00:14:53] come up kind of more to the table just [00:14:55] so everyone can hear you [00:15:24] can get did you want a little background [00:15:26] on us or [00:15:27] sure [00:15:33] we'll [00:15:34] we'll start with that we'll go through [00:15:35] the formal very short this one this is [00:15:36] going to take two minutes for this part [00:15:38] um [00:15:43] and if you had uh look i went to west [00:15:45] point i was an army officer i was an [00:15:47] engineer professional engineer for [00:15:51] almost 38 years um so i mean that's [00:15:55] that's what i then i went after i [00:15:56] finished my army career i went to [00:15:58] harvard business school and so i've been [00:16:00] a finance guy i used to ride bonds at [00:16:01] bear stearns [00:16:02] i was director financial services for [00:16:04] america's largest construction company [00:16:06] turner construction turner court you see [00:16:07] the big blue signs [00:16:09] i did ten percent of the bottom line by [00:16:11] financing projects and then got [00:16:12] recruited from the cfo of hca [00:16:14] international [00:16:15] so i took them public i took all the [00:16:17] stuff from possible corporation america [00:16:19] that was offshore and i took it public [00:16:21] in the uk so i lived in london for a [00:16:23] year [00:16:23] and i at the same time i opened the [00:16:25] first western medical centers in moscow [00:16:27] in russia so i lived in russia for two [00:16:28] years my landlord was kgb a lot of [00:16:31] stories we could talk about that but i [00:16:32] used to be in the army so i understood [00:16:34] that stuff [00:16:35] then um then i sold my interest in the [00:16:36] company and i i found a partner and i [00:16:39] went to china and opened the first [00:16:40] western medical centers in china my [00:16:42] partner was the ministry of health so [00:16:44] every day i had access to one of the [00:16:45] four vice ministers and we had great [00:16:47] conversations [00:16:48] and [00:16:51] [Music] [00:16:53] and i don't think any medical center can [00:16:55] be profitable in 40 days but we did that [00:16:56] from scratch [00:16:58] and so that worked out really well i [00:16:59] sold my first company there and then i [00:17:01] set up another company five months later [00:17:03] no about [00:17:05] about two and a half months later i'd [00:17:06] raise the money five million dollars [00:17:08] and i went back and i was on that [00:17:10] company i set up a network of facilities [00:17:11] in china so that the refreshing son [00:17:13] richard lee lucasian is one of the [00:17:14] biggest real estate investors in asia [00:17:17] came back from that [00:17:18] after living in china for six years i [00:17:20] came back and i set up two um two funds [00:17:24] uh [00:17:24] to invest in optics and photonics i was [00:17:26] ceo [00:17:27] of two venture capital funds i then [00:17:30] became [00:17:31] i then had multiple jobs at the same [00:17:33] time while i was spending half my time [00:17:34] in san francisco working with funds i [00:17:36] also became cfo of three biotech funds [00:17:40] and i also was the cf of a public [00:17:42] trading company in virginia we did [00:17:43] tobacco [00:17:44] and so we we went from 98 million sales [00:17:46] 223 million sales in one year we came up [00:17:49] with a really ingenious system to work [00:17:50] with agriculture and that's what i [00:17:52] understand a lot about agriculture and [00:17:54] working with them because we spent 27 [00:17:56] million for the farmers to give them [00:17:57] brand new tobacco carrying bars we gave [00:18:00] those to them and then we were able to [00:18:02] buy one third of all the tobacco ground [00:18:04] in virginia [00:18:06] so it really worked out cool then i i [00:18:07] did about this stuff i was a director of [00:18:09] the director of three different banks uh [00:18:11] including the bank of virginia which we [00:18:13] bought out with some partners [00:18:14] so we've done all sorts of neat stuff [00:18:16] and i have a i have a venture fund right [00:18:18] now i've got other stuff we do i've got [00:18:20] investors in europe and [00:18:22] in the states and in asia [00:18:24] and this particular venture is in acre [00:18:27] farms is rebecca's helping us right back [00:18:29] when you introduce yourself all right my [00:18:31] name is rebecca adams and i am a [00:18:33] cannabis [00:18:34] uh regulatory compliance consultant i [00:18:37] help groups uh get through the licensing [00:18:40] process they work with i work with the [00:18:42] ccc on an ongoing basis i'm with them [00:18:45] sometimes two or three times a week [00:18:48] i'm doing inspections sometimes uh [00:18:51] helping to fix problems with certain [00:18:53] clients [00:18:54] and i'm here to help sun acres uh get up [00:18:57] and running and stay compliant and [00:18:59] maintain compliance that's important to [00:19:01] us we follow the rules i mean i've never [00:19:04] used i for me to advocate for a lot it's [00:19:06] funny because i've never used it don't [00:19:08] want to use it have no interest in using [00:19:10] i used to put people in jail for [00:19:12] i mean so [00:19:13] no no but no but i mean but i mean [00:19:15] that's that's what we did that was a [00:19:17] different time and the same thing [00:19:18] happened tobacco [00:19:19] where we had to do different things so [00:19:21] that the communities as the garment [00:19:24] industry [00:19:25] collapsed as other industries collapsed [00:19:27] all their kids all their grandkids all [00:19:29] their kids all their friends had to go [00:19:30] to the city to make money so we're [00:19:32] trying to do here is bring some of those [00:19:33] agricultural jobs back here that are [00:19:35] good paying [00:19:36] that are high value so so that your your [00:19:39] friends family can have a choice however [00:19:41] they want to work here and hard work or [00:19:43] they want to have kids all go to the [00:19:45] city and some back you know they [00:19:47] but they can work here and get good good [00:19:48] funds out of that so that's part of the [00:19:50] purpose of this as well and it's an [00:19:52] investor thing i mean i'm an investor [00:19:53] you know we want to do well that way too [00:19:56] so good evening behalf of our team and [00:19:57] zen acres we'd like to thank you for the [00:19:59] time this evening you're taking out your [00:20:00] schedule [00:20:01] and for your consideration to enter this [00:20:03] community host agreement with us i'd [00:20:05] like to take a few minutes to introduce [00:20:07] our project goals and directives which [00:20:09] are how we plan to work with the town of [00:20:10] hardwick to produce a positive impact [00:20:12] for everybody [00:20:14] um we know you reviewed the [00:20:16] post-community agreement so we thought [00:20:18] we'd highlight something better in [00:20:19] discussions right now um you already met [00:20:21] rebecca and myself [00:20:22] um our team is not present this evening [00:20:24] probably every member of our team will [00:20:26] be there at the special permit [00:20:27] application we come back for that so [00:20:29] each member the team will be there so [00:20:31] i'm on the board [00:21:01] we also have to send out a letter to all [00:21:03] the properties so there's a whole bunch [00:21:05] of letters [00:21:11] um [00:21:16] i definitely will yeah which would be [00:21:19] great um we plan we plan to cultivate in [00:21:22] phases a hundred thousand square feet of [00:21:25] uh marijuana i have twenty thousand [00:21:27] square feet of manufacturing space five [00:21:29] thousand square feet of retail space [00:21:31] okay so i've been done in phases likely [00:21:32] done instantly sixty thousand square [00:21:34] feet outdoor forty thousand square feet [00:21:37] indoor okay that doesn't mean inside a [00:21:39] building it could be inside of a [00:21:40] greenhouse okay which is kind of a [00:21:43] year-round greenhouse [00:21:44] um our team is not proposing any [00:21:46] delivery from this location so we're not [00:21:48] going to be out there delivering to [00:21:49] people in the community or anything like [00:21:50] that we're proposing hours of operations [00:21:52] for the retail to be 8 am to 10 pm [00:21:54] monday through sunday [00:21:56] um [00:21:57] can we [00:22:01] yes [00:22:03] um and we'll possibly impact the talent [00:22:05] part way um in terms of [00:22:07] good faith efforts to hire a contract [00:22:09] using a local business as a service so [00:22:11] we can get it locally we'll hire we'll [00:22:12] pay for it locally we want to do that we [00:22:14] want to hire as many people as we can [00:22:16] locally um we have also requirements for [00:22:18] the state for the diversity programs [00:22:20] other things like that we'll do whatever [00:22:21] we can to make sure it's within the town [00:22:24] okay we also are going to provide one [00:22:25] public healthcare education program on [00:22:27] public health [00:22:29] prevention annually that's in the hca [00:22:31] and we also have a community impact fee [00:22:33] so it's [00:22:34] in addition to sales tax and [00:22:37] other taxes this is two and a half [00:22:39] percent of the gross okay they go to you [00:22:41] every year and we also pay to the town [00:22:43] directly for your own discretionary use [00:22:44] twenty thousand dollars per year [00:22:46] and as part of this we also conduct the [00:22:48] community five thousand dollars annually [00:22:50] for for profit non-profit uh for [00:22:53] non-profit groups and that's somebody [00:22:55] that's we'll pick them out we may pick [00:22:57] out the same one maybe got different [00:22:58] ones but we'll take care of that and [00:22:59] you're gonna find us to be pretty [00:23:00] generous with what we wind up doing we [00:23:02] we want limited to that [00:23:04] um we'll operate the facility [00:23:06] professionally you know we want to we [00:23:08] will make sure we follow the state laws [00:23:10] the [00:23:11] town rules [00:23:12] police rules fires you know [00:23:14] we understand rules and [00:23:17] you just do them i mean so that's that's [00:23:19] not an issue [00:23:32] so [00:23:33] you know we're required to [00:23:34] put together a security plan and the [00:23:37] security layout we don't have that [00:23:39] layout yet [00:23:40] um and so you know that's why we have [00:23:43] reached out we don't really have [00:23:44] anything to show [00:24:31] but um [00:24:52] sure [00:24:54] [Music] [00:25:02] when we come back to see you for the [00:25:04] next next presentation when the whole [00:25:05] team's there yeah um we'll we'll have [00:25:08] seen them right we'll have nelly seen [00:25:09] them but we're happy to talk to them and [00:25:11] we're happy to work it out with them [00:25:12] we're not trying to stress anybody yeah [00:25:14] we want to make this a simple [00:25:16] agricultural [00:25:17] ratio [00:25:18] but make sure it's secure make sure it's [00:25:19] safe make sure these cameras make sure [00:25:22] the laws are pretty clear what we're [00:25:23] going to do it's extensive you know it's [00:25:25] not guesswork it's [00:25:31] really often with a lot of different [00:25:33] groups whether it's cultivation product [00:25:35] manufacturing or retail [00:25:36] or all of it [00:25:38] and [00:25:39] it's usually one of the things that we [00:25:41] do after the hca more than happy to make [00:25:43] the call tomorrow it will um and so [00:25:46] we'll introduce ourselves introduce the [00:25:48] whole entire project and then typically [00:25:51] what we'll do is we'll put together a [00:25:53] security plan [00:25:54] security sops and get them to actually [00:25:57] approve it make sure that they're [00:25:59] comfortable that they feel that it's [00:26:01] adequate enough um it will be based on [00:26:04] you know the security integrator [00:26:07] and where they place cameras motion [00:26:09] centers glass breaks [00:26:10] um and then after that um just so you [00:26:14] know we submit that to the ccc for [00:26:16] what's called architectural review [00:26:18] ccc then reviews that security layout [00:26:21] and then if they want to add anything to [00:26:23] it they add it then if they do we go [00:26:25] back to the police [00:26:26] um and then we provide um [00:26:30] we request the police department and the [00:26:33] fire department to do a walkthrough of [00:26:35] the facility so that's as it's being [00:26:37] built um before we get our certificate [00:26:40] of occupancy right they they will have [00:26:42] to sign off um no matter what [00:26:45] yeah yeah but we we make sure that [00:26:47] they're included throughout the whole [00:26:48] entire time [00:26:51] [Music] [00:27:02] definitely make sure that they're [00:27:04] involved [00:27:12] when it comes to all those things [00:27:14] because she's done this a lot of times [00:27:15] but as you're saying i'm like oh no no [00:27:18] please do yeah we even had we security's [00:27:20] number one priority [00:27:21] police department is illegal to consume [00:27:23] any products on site [00:27:25] illegal to lawyer or litter you must be [00:27:27] 21 years of age to enter the facility so [00:27:29] you can't like come in with your kids [00:27:30] you can't you know just have the kids [00:27:32] take a look that doesn't happen it's 20 [00:27:34] 21 to get in [00:27:35] um and we're not talking about tours but [00:27:36] there's no tourists for the facility [00:27:38] this is all you know it's all sensitive [00:27:40] work yeah so you know it's and it's very [00:27:43] detailed and disposed of materials [00:27:44] disposal products and [00:27:46] you know just [00:27:47] all sorts of critique that has to take [00:27:49] there's a whole slp just on record [00:27:50] keeping alone [00:27:51] um we'll go closer to the time to ensure [00:27:53] that we're hearing and listening to all [00:27:55] your concerns or questions we'll abide [00:27:57] by all local state building requirements [00:27:59] we know that the property has [00:28:00] it's you know near water areas we've got [00:28:03] to be extra careful in massachusetts [00:28:05] i have to look at virginia massachusetts [00:28:07] one of his reputational most [00:28:09] complex and [00:28:10] complete series of [00:28:12] uh conservation laws in the country [00:28:14] i mean even was the corps of engineers i [00:28:16] knew that [00:28:17] so [00:28:19] yes and so we wanted [00:28:21] and we want to do that and we want to do [00:28:23] it right so we're not going to that's [00:28:24] not a problem we're not going to be [00:28:25] going to do that [00:28:27] and uh we're going to hold our community [00:28:28] outreach room we just talked about that [00:28:30] um and then we have to apply everything [00:28:32] we've got those licenses to play with [00:28:33] the cannabis control commission [00:28:35] and the sops we need supply then are [00:28:37] going to be updated here so that they'll [00:28:39] match all of the state and local [00:28:41] requirements when we turn those in and [00:28:42] then we have to make them for very [00:28:43] specific we like an sop for security [00:28:45] where you turn in and talks about all [00:28:47] the general stuff then we would update [00:28:49] that so that joe schmedleck knows when [00:28:51] he's there he has to sign in has to do [00:28:53] this tape has to put the old tape here [00:28:55] has to walk the premises has to walk the [00:28:57] yard has to if he if he finds fences [00:29:00] have been tampered with or something's [00:29:01] been cut he needs to report that who's [00:29:03] reported to who doesn't know what [00:29:04] happens who he calls that's the second [00:29:07] level of sophistication in terms of the [00:29:09] sops is what joshua does when he's there [00:29:12] or she does you know just being spent [00:29:14] when she's there you know what they have [00:29:16] to do is guard so that's that's two [00:29:17] levels and they've already briefed me on [00:29:19] that and i thought that was that was [00:29:20] more than we did the army um and [00:29:23] so we're very happy that you could take [00:29:24] a look at this it's 360 acres so it's [00:29:27] not going to be an all-36 it's going to [00:29:29] be a portion of the land [00:29:30] um so there's there's quite a bit of [00:29:32] land that will still be used for hay for [00:29:34] other things in the near term um which [00:29:36] is great but it's it's a nice sized [00:29:38] project 100 000 square feet so it'll be [00:29:40] should be nice income for you guys too [00:29:44] any questions [00:29:46] which part of the property will this be [00:29:49] located on [00:29:51] we've been discussing that back and [00:29:52] forth we have some basic drawings um is [00:29:55] there any areas in particular of [00:29:56] interest to you [00:29:59] it's gonna be right here the pond where [00:30:01] the old ponds are located i think it's [00:30:02] gonna be up on that up on that that [00:30:04] immediate [00:30:06] immediate uh [00:30:07] hill right beyond that [00:30:09] um that's what i think we're talking [00:30:10] about right now we have we have not yet [00:30:12] engaged uh we haven't engaged in an [00:30:15] architect for some preliminary work but [00:30:17] we have to have some soils guys go back [00:30:19] and we're gonna have to take some you [00:30:20] know some soil samples [00:30:26] you know the greenhouses will wind up [00:30:28] invisible for the road and we we've said [00:30:30] that if we have to we'll put up you know [00:30:32] barriers and all that but i don't think [00:30:34] anybody yeah so [00:30:37] but i can't imagine having uh because [00:30:40] the light the light issues for some [00:30:41] people [00:30:44] that came up in the past [00:30:46] so we're sensitive to that [00:30:48] it's not going to be it's not going to [00:30:49] be right next to the road it won't be [00:30:51] wrecked [00:30:51] it'll be sent back on the property does [00:30:54] that answer your question ma'am [00:30:56] not really are you talking about at the [00:30:58] back of the 20 acre lot [00:31:15] this is where the barns are right right [00:31:16] yeah [00:31:18] it's going to be generally in this area [00:31:20] so generally far away from the 20 acre [00:31:22] lot is there anything in particular 28 [00:31:24] year lot that's that's of interest that [00:31:26] i just need to know about [00:31:28] it's a beautiful area up there well used [00:31:31] by the people uh for recreation and it [00:31:34] doesn't have any electric [00:31:36] wires breaking up the view and so on [00:31:39] well i can't guarantee we won't use it [00:31:41] for something else [00:31:42] we may put other stuff up there that has [00:31:44] non-cannabis applications completely [00:31:46] just so you know up front i'm not gonna [00:31:48] i mean we're interested in doing other [00:31:50] things in the lab [00:31:52] so i can't guarantee it's gonna be [00:31:53] pristine but we're not gonna do dirt [00:31:55] bike racing [00:31:57] i mean well that's good [00:31:58] but [00:32:06] can i also just um remind everyone that [00:32:09] questions go through the chair [00:32:11] and not just speaking directly [00:32:14] thank you okay thank you [00:32:41] and we can put this back on the next [00:32:42] agenda or if you feel comfortable [00:32:45] you know voting tonight [00:32:48] [Music] [00:32:52] income i'd prefer to give it [00:33:26] um just so you know i'm just trying to [00:33:28] think this through my little brain [00:33:30] is that we can't set up a community [00:33:32] meeting [00:33:33] until we have an approved agreement [00:33:34] could you provisionally approve it and [00:33:37] then that way we can set up our [00:33:38] community host meeting and not be [00:33:40] delayed on timeline because that costs [00:33:42] us time and money we're happy to do that [00:33:44] but and and you could provisionally [00:33:46] improve it if i'm gonna go see the chief [00:33:47] police on those personally see them [00:33:50] you understand what i'm saying [00:34:02] it's not the way you're supposed to do [00:34:04] it [00:34:06] is [00:34:32] with your permission we'll go ahead and [00:34:34] start scheduling that because we thought [00:34:36] there was a yeah i mean [00:34:38] one step through right so if we don't [00:34:40] have an eca then we're spending this [00:34:42] time in the money like community [00:34:43] outreach meeting and then so that's why [00:34:45] we're just trying to do things in the [00:34:46] water that's my perspective [00:34:51] to be honest um [00:34:57] and so yeah [00:34:59] we did [00:35:12] i think the biggest concern is [00:35:26] julie do you have anything to add [00:35:30] um i just it's just a comment being on [00:35:32] zuma is really hard to hear when [00:35:34] multiple people are speaking i'm missing [00:35:37] half a conversation [00:35:38] i guess a question to nicole has this [00:35:40] been through town council [00:35:42] yes oh yes [00:35:44] okay [00:35:45] um [00:35:46] i [00:35:48] i mean i have you know i have concerns i [00:35:51] think that the chief needs to [00:35:53] the folks you know the chief needs to be [00:35:55] consulted on this um i don't know i i [00:35:58] understand the need to move this through [00:36:01] uh [00:36:03] i would advocate though that we take [00:36:05] this up again on the 28th i it sounds [00:36:07] like it's not going to impact the [00:36:09] community meeting but again it's really [00:36:11] hard for me to hear them soon so i'm not [00:36:13] sure if there's a reason why um [00:36:15] we need to absolutely sign this tonight [00:36:17] i do not feel comfortable with a [00:36:19] provisional signing [00:36:20] uh personally i think we either sign it [00:36:22] or we don't sign it [00:36:25] again my opinion [00:36:27] yeah [00:36:28] we understand we understand too as uh [00:36:44] do we need to come back for the 28th or [00:36:46] do we just can we [00:36:48] yes [00:36:49] okay [00:36:50] awesome thank you i appreciate that yes [00:36:54] because [00:36:56] yeah [00:36:59] um [00:37:00] [Music] [00:37:09] um but no it's you know [00:37:12] business [00:37:17] yes please um [00:37:19] [Music] [00:37:23] yes [00:37:54] [Music] [00:38:02] no wonder people got them to approve so [00:38:03] quickly we couldn't figure out what we [00:38:05] were how we were being so [00:38:06] so nobody in this town [00:38:09] i i don't know if that's what you're [00:38:11] referring to [00:38:12] no i think he's fine okay [00:38:30] yes [00:38:42] so is there a formal letter that the [00:38:45] police chief needs to spend i just know [00:38:47] with certain municipalities [00:38:49] with special permitting usually i need [00:38:51] like a formal letter or how how will you [00:38:54] guys know right that he or she [00:39:04] [Music] [00:39:24] okay [00:39:32] is [00:39:53] a [00:40:01] [Music] [00:40:09] do we can do that level [00:40:10] if you ask me for architectural drawings [00:40:16] sewage plans [00:40:19] i mean that's going to be a little more [00:40:20] sophisticated but i mean yes a ruler and [00:40:34] subject to changes that might happen [00:40:35] once we do our architectural review and [00:40:37] everything like that there could be [00:40:39] there could be groundwater issues that [00:40:40] we didn't even know about yet [00:40:42] okay [00:40:43] okay that's helpful thank you [00:41:04] and then the cannabis control commission [00:41:06] has to go through and they have [00:41:07] inspections that take place so they [00:41:09] they're very interested exactly where [00:41:10] this could be exactly where that's going [00:41:12] to be so they they go on site they take [00:41:14] a look around [00:41:15] it's detailed [00:41:31] thank you [00:41:41] so [00:41:42] i don't have a dog warrant for you so [00:41:43] just mix that because you signed it in [00:41:45] may of last year [00:41:47] gave it to you shouldn't have to have a [00:41:48] report by april one so she's still on [00:41:51] the last one so i'm not gonna do that [00:41:53] but the italian election war um [00:41:56] so historically we have done ten more [00:42:00] and when we've had no races there's been [00:42:03] sometimes we haven't even had 100 voters [00:42:06] given the fact that we're going to have [00:42:08] to have uh mandatory in-person [00:42:11] early voting state primary in the state [00:42:13] election [00:42:14] uh and given the fact that there are no [00:42:16] races [00:42:18] i'm recommending [00:42:20] but it's still your call i'm [00:42:21] recommending that we have the election [00:42:23] from noon to 7pm [00:42:26] at the elementary school [00:42:29] you can have it as open as early as [00:42:31] seven if you wish [00:42:32] uh it has to be at least four hours now [00:42:35] ideally i i could almost say well let's [00:42:36] do ten to two or twelve performance that [00:42:38] doesn't start the electorate it's kind [00:42:39] of you know yeah and at the same time [00:42:42] twelve to six it's like people might [00:42:43] become unexpected [00:42:45] from seven to eight they're [00:42:48] unless it's a you know the presidential [00:42:49] election it was busy but town elections [00:42:52] and primaries and stuff seven to eight [00:42:53] there's no [00:42:55] there's no one so [00:42:56] um [00:42:57] if you do decide on on that i've got the [00:42:59] original here along with coffees if you [00:43:01] want me to change it if you want to [00:43:03] change the time to something else [00:43:05] i can go do it and reprint it [00:43:08] so that's that's my [00:43:10] spiel [00:43:18] um i don't i don't have an issue with [00:43:19] that time frame as long you know the key [00:43:21] would be making sure that everybody has [00:43:22] the ability to get to the polls in the [00:43:24] time frame that um the polls are open [00:43:27] and if [00:43:28] you know the question is being recorded [00:43:33] um if the clerk thinks that that time [00:43:35] frame works i'm willing to go with his [00:43:38] suggestion [00:43:42] do i just pass the buck to you ryan [00:43:45] thanks julie so if that made the case i [00:43:48] would just simply you could exercise a [00:43:50] motion that you won't be doing election [00:43:52] on monday 11 [00:43:53] 2022 from noon to 7 p.m at the harvard [00:43:57] elementary school 764 house drive [00:44:05] i'll second the motion [00:44:24] so you know i can leave it in there [00:44:26] julia if you want [00:44:28] um [00:44:29] it's up to you [00:44:30] i have no problem so just a point of [00:44:32] order nicole why not since i'm on zoom [00:44:34] do i have to do we have to do a roll [00:44:36] call because i'm the only one that's not [00:44:37] present [00:44:39] let's do a roll call vote [00:44:44] wouldn't hurt [00:45:02] thank [00:45:16] so [00:45:20] okay um other old business the ems [00:45:23] services recommendation from ambulance [00:45:25] committee did i see an email yes [00:45:28] okay [00:45:31] um so i'll just read this email [00:45:33] greetings at the [00:45:34] meeting of the ambulance feasibility [00:45:36] study committee for hardware that took [00:45:38] place on march 7th the committee voted [00:45:40] to recommend to the board of selectmen [00:45:42] that the town enter into an agreement [00:45:44] west brookfield ambulance to provide ems [00:45:46] service to hardware [00:45:48] the committee will continue to meet [00:45:49] regularly and investigate ways to [00:45:51] establish an ambulance service [00:45:53] for our uh for our own respectfully [00:45:56] submitted eric belheim chairman [00:46:00] um [00:46:02] so i they uh west brookfield got their [00:46:05] als correct yes [00:46:10] however so they got it [00:46:12] so because they also transport to palmer [00:46:15] they have to get their [00:46:17] certification in that region too [00:46:20] so [00:46:21] it's going to take about a week or so [00:46:22] it's more of a red tape kind of thing so [00:46:25] um but yes they are als now [00:46:28] and um [00:46:30] earlier [00:46:32] last week or the week before where had [00:46:34] asked us to [00:46:35] um you know set up a time where we could [00:46:36] meet with the ambulance committee which [00:46:38] is not this study committee but the [00:46:40] ambulance [00:46:42] [Music] [00:46:47] the chief wasn't able to come so we [00:46:49] haven't had the meeting yet [00:46:50] and the meeting is supposed to be about [00:46:53] what we're going to do for the next [00:46:55] until until june 30 how we're going to [00:46:57] handle the um [00:46:58] agreement [00:47:00] um [00:47:01] yep they're all they are [00:47:03] they are so um [00:47:05] i wasn't i couldn't find the email i [00:47:08] couldn't remember which attorney it was [00:47:09] to find an email [00:47:10] talking about what we do you know to get [00:47:12] reimbursed in the event we leave before [00:47:15] the 12 months how we get um [00:47:18] you know how they program [00:47:20] so um [00:47:22] that's great that they recommended this [00:47:26] there was an issue with them working [00:47:28] with barry last year [00:47:32] so i think there needs to be more [00:47:33] meetings here and i'm not i'm [00:47:36] i'm not so sure we're ready to jump ship [00:47:38] prior to the end of the fiscal year so i [00:47:40] agree yeah okay um but i know that you [00:47:43] know julie had asked you know if we're [00:47:44] gonna really how is that gonna work [00:47:46] right and [00:47:48] i you know honestly it's it was [00:47:50] appropriated right but you know it's [00:47:52] like at this point we can just finish up [00:47:55] the year and then and then start fresh [00:47:57] in july but what happened was [00:48:00] at their meeting [00:48:03] last monday night they voted to [00:48:04] terminate our contract [00:48:08] so have they notified us no i just [00:48:10] happened to hear it in passing because [00:48:12] the where town clerk came in to see the [00:48:14] hard work town clerk and she told me [00:48:16] that they did that so i didn't see [00:48:17] anything i didn't mean [00:48:30] so that's that that's just where that is [00:48:41] this is feasible [00:48:44] because there were some concerns [00:48:46] okay [00:48:46] um [00:48:58] i did get february's uh ambulance report [00:49:06] it would be ideal if we could make the [00:49:07] transition [00:49:08] you know the new fiscal year that would [00:49:10] be very cute [00:49:12] and it will take some time you know [00:49:14] obviously we want to make sure that [00:49:15] everybody is working cohesively and that [00:49:18] you know we have a contract we don't [00:49:19] have it necessarily a contract right now [00:49:22] so it will take a little time anyway so [00:49:24] yeah that's what i mean just getting it [00:49:25] would be the end of the year we would [00:49:27] stay with where even [00:49:28] though [00:49:37] do you guys want [00:49:39] should we set up a meeting [00:49:41] with [00:49:42] with the two different towns [00:49:47] probably should [00:49:49] [Music] [00:49:51] julie [00:49:52] so can we um can we actually clarify can [00:49:55] we sort of hear it from the horse's [00:49:56] mouth so to speak about what the [00:49:58] termination of contract means [00:50:00] i believe in the contract there's a [00:50:02] 90-day period so [00:50:04] if they voted to terminate it [00:50:07] at their last meeting does that bring us [00:50:08] through the end of june [00:50:10] do we have to be out earlier i think we [00:50:12] sort of need clarifications around that [00:50:14] i also agree [00:50:17] i also agree that we do need to make [00:50:18] sure that there's a meeting with west [00:50:20] brookfield and barry we have a current [00:50:22] contract with barry [00:50:24] and i just want to be sure that they're [00:50:26] um [00:50:27] that's just going to to work [00:50:31] agreed [00:50:35] well you know i like you said we haven't [00:50:38] heard it necessarily from the select [00:50:39] board or the town manager so [00:50:41] uh honestly it [00:50:43] technically hasn't happened yet what i [00:50:45] probably assume is that april first [00:50:48] they'll send us the 90-day termination i [00:50:51] would assume if we don't talk to them [00:50:52] we're still supposed to have a meeting [00:50:54] so [00:50:55] well maybe we reached out to them and [00:50:57] asked stewart [00:50:59] there'd be a sense to her and you know [00:51:01] questioning the meeting that you guys [00:51:03] were supposed to have [00:51:07] then at that point you get a response or [00:51:09] even say we've heard through [00:51:12] you know the rumor mill [00:51:14] just looking for some clarification [00:51:21] and then we can move forward and um set [00:51:26] um should we do that maybe our first [00:51:28] our first meeting in april [00:51:30] have them see if they can be on the [00:51:33] agenda or we can do it [00:51:36] next meeting we have [00:51:38] to deal with this [00:51:43] march [00:51:45] march 28th [00:51:47] yeah there's two public liquor licenses [00:52:01] i thought it was coming through the [00:52:02] computer [00:52:07] well i can use that to store it [00:52:09] let's see yeah and then we can maybe [00:52:11] plan that meeting [00:52:15] okay um mass department of fish and game [00:52:19] is considering the purchase of a [00:52:21] sea interest in land located in the town [00:52:24] of hardware the traffic is in your [00:52:27] um [00:52:29] i can add my two cents as to what goes [00:52:32] down on this i will not be voting on [00:52:33] this [00:52:35] um [00:52:36] this property is located off of north [00:52:38] road [00:52:40] they do have an agreement in place [00:52:43] the reason why they come to the town is [00:52:45] they ask for the town's [00:52:48] a letter of support [00:52:50] so that they can move forward on the [00:52:51] closing otherwise there's a waiting [00:52:53] period so regardless of what happens um [00:52:57] they will be buying this person [00:53:01] they just look for support [00:53:04] from the town [00:53:05] so what they're asking us to do is send [00:53:07] them a letter of support so they can [00:53:09] expedite [00:53:10] this correct [00:53:14] um back taxes get paid on anything that [00:53:17] was [00:53:17] not in um in taxes [00:53:20] and then you can see the last two lines [00:53:23] on there [00:53:24] um [00:53:25] and [00:53:29] um [00:53:31] i know in the past it's been noted that [00:53:33] there's a pilot program that fisher game [00:53:35] has with the town and that is not the [00:53:37] case [00:53:54] i think [00:53:57] um i don't so uh what what's in front of [00:54:00] us is just for us to [00:54:02] um [00:54:04] authorize a letter of support for the [00:54:06] purchase is am i correct in that [00:54:08] yes okay [00:54:13] i i don't have an issue [00:54:19] do you want to make the motion you want [00:54:21] me to [00:54:32] yeah it's just a letter of support for [00:54:35] the purchase [00:54:37] and again [00:54:38] speed up the process you know the [00:54:40] process will happen regardless it's just [00:54:42] that it it does um help [00:54:45] facilitate it [00:54:47] so um i'll make a motion that we [00:54:50] authorize nicole on behalf of the board [00:54:52] of selectmen to [00:54:55] write a letter of support in support of [00:54:57] [Music] [00:54:58] the department of fish and games [00:55:00] purchase of [00:55:03] the property known as town assessor map [00:55:05] 10 partials 3 and 6 math 126 parses 15 [00:55:09] and 16. [00:55:11] what's the second though [00:55:15] oh [00:55:18] you're [00:55:22] kelly [00:55:54] [Music] [00:55:57] so eagle hill is going to sponsor it [00:56:02] great and i also donated the [00:56:06] funny costume that angie brassard on [00:56:08] park and rec is going to be wearing well [00:56:11] that's awesome [00:56:12] are they looking for donations [00:56:14] no because it's now fully sponsored okay [00:56:16] well if there are [00:56:17] additional crafts come off or we can [00:56:19] think of anything [00:56:21] well they hope to do more events so [00:56:23] maybe in the future that will happen but [00:56:25] um right now this is covered they just [00:56:28] need your approval for [00:56:35] yeah [00:56:37] well i think it's just you know [00:56:39] technically [00:56:41] um [00:56:54] do we need a motion [00:56:58] sure [00:56:59] so um i'll make a motion that we um [00:57:02] authorize the parks and rec commission [00:57:03] to hold the first annual easter egg hunt [00:57:06] april 10th 2022 at 1pm [00:57:10] second pass [00:57:31] so just a question um [00:57:33] under 4c for old business do we have to [00:57:36] approve a change order for new braintree [00:57:39] did i miss that did we do that already [00:57:41] we didn't i guess i was signatures and [00:57:44] yeah yeah but we can okay [00:57:48] i just got her under old business i [00:57:49] wasn't sure if i missed something sorry [00:57:51] about that [00:57:52] oh [00:57:55] it's under 4d [00:57:56] or 4c [00:57:59] i don't have it on this one so that's [00:58:00] why that's why i skipped over it i have [00:58:02] the old agenda sorry [00:58:04] thank you [00:58:09] do you just want to go over there [00:58:17] [Music] [00:58:27] requested due to unforeseen sub-surface [00:58:30] conditions [00:58:31] so [00:58:32] uh two batch two catch basins an [00:58:35] associated drain type located in [00:58:36] greentree road were replaced due to [00:58:39] conflict encountered during the [00:58:40] installations because they didn't know [00:58:41] where they were [00:58:43] um [00:58:44] and [00:58:46] during the installation of the water and [00:58:47] sewer main additional water services [00:58:49] were required so there's this change [00:58:51] order that will be covered under the [00:58:52] grant [00:58:53] yeah that was a contingency fund i [00:58:56] believe that was [00:58:57] um [00:58:59] you know priorly but like they could [00:59:01] overspend the project by 10 percent [00:59:04] something to that nature and they were [00:59:05] well aware of this they may need to [00:59:06] spend what so [00:59:08] i think before it started [00:59:09] yeah exactly [00:59:15] to approve the change order for the [00:59:18] old gilbertville road [00:59:20] project [00:59:26] all those in favor [00:59:28] rabbi [00:59:30] julia kelly yes [00:59:39] okay call your report now okay [00:59:41] um [00:59:57] so here's the youtube issue [01:00:02] [Music] [01:00:26] hall march um and the 31st from five to [01:00:29] eight i will give updates shortly [01:00:31] thereafter this is required to get to [01:00:33] the designation [01:00:35] the playing board is finalizing your [01:00:37] solo right now [01:00:40] somebody from boston i didn't [01:00:42] participate i was in general yeah i [01:00:44] heard that went well that was good yeah [01:00:47] tuesday march 1st the east coast and [01:00:49] mass division of ecological restoration [01:00:51] had a meeting regarding the proposal [01:00:54] damn [01:00:56] it was very well attended conservation [01:00:58] commission was also present [01:01:00] it seems like a really good project that [01:01:02] the state's now doing when you know they [01:01:04] don't need these scams anymore because [01:01:06] they're not there for purpose [01:01:23] it's pretty much done um so we'll [01:01:26] for your approval at the next meeting [01:01:27] because um [01:01:29] we need to mention it [01:01:30] um [01:01:32] when i was contacted by fema we received [01:01:34] almost 185 000 in funds but only three [01:01:38] thousand ninety two and eighty one cents [01:01:39] was reported so they were expecting us [01:01:42] to return 179 856 dollars that we have [01:01:46] spent [01:01:47] so they're allowing us to do it's [01:01:49] literally called a do-over and report [01:01:52] report the line item so we'll be able to [01:01:54] um [01:01:55] not have to pay that back because that [01:01:57] was kind of [01:01:59] stressful and [01:02:00] scary when i thought we were going to [01:02:01] use all of our free cash [01:02:04] so that'll be all set [01:02:05] um and two abcc hearings are scheduled [01:02:08] for the 28th one is for the golf course [01:02:09] and the other is for a new convenience [01:02:10] store [01:02:11] i know you all know where the locations [01:02:13] are um [01:02:15] it's going to be called [01:02:16] old furnace country store [01:02:19] and then i'm requesting a vacation from [01:02:22] april 18th to the 22nd and then possibly [01:02:24] this coming monday for a personal day [01:02:27] um [01:02:28] but i'm not positive [01:02:47] and they're doing a new paper [01:02:49] that is [01:02:51] starting on april 7th it's going to be [01:02:53] called the monsoon palmer reminder but [01:02:55] it covers once in palmer where [01:02:57] warren hardwick brimfield holland and [01:02:59] wales it's going to be delivered to [01:03:01] every home in the communities they cover [01:03:03] free of charge [01:03:04] so we will probably be seeing more media [01:03:07] i'm really excited about this because [01:03:08] this is completely different than [01:03:10] charlie publications so i think that [01:03:13] we'll get a lot better local coverage [01:03:16] and more positive coverage and it's [01:03:18] going to go right to everybody's houses [01:03:20] so [01:03:21] um [01:03:22] if anybody has any questions you can [01:03:23] reach out to me and if you want to talk [01:03:25] to them i have the contacts [01:03:27] um and the lead reporter that's going to [01:03:29] be in this newspaper is lauren labelle [01:03:31] so [01:03:32] if anybody wants to contact them for any [01:03:33] reason [01:03:34] just call me i will give you the [01:03:36] information [01:03:42] but [01:03:53] zan barnes here i have a question [01:03:56] i am i did uh nicole mean the your [01:04:01] municipal building [01:04:04] um [01:04:06] okay it's down at your municipal [01:04:07] building the 24th and 31st [01:04:10] gatherings [01:04:17] yes it's here [01:04:19] okay thank you [01:04:20] okay [01:04:21] thank you man [01:04:23] all right well um that being said then [01:04:26] we will be going into executive session [01:04:29] so the only person that can remain on [01:04:32] the zoo is julie