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Hardwick Select Board: Town Administrator Finalist Interviews and Budget Discussion

Original title: 5/21/24 - Hardwick, MA Select Board Meeting

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

May 21, 2024

Duration

32m

Decisions

1 recorded

Action Items

1 assigned

Summary

The Hardwick Select Board conducted interviews with two finalists for the Town Administrator position, focusing on candidates' experience, approach to municipal challenges, budget management, and communication strategies. Key discussion points included financial constraints in small communities, the role of the Town Administrator in implementing the Select Board's vision, and strategies for public engagement. The board also addressed a budget correction for the Board of Health and discussed the potential reallocation of an "Opera Fund" to support the police budget, pending clarification on available funds. The meeting concluded with plans for further deliberation and a potential vote on the Town Administrator appointment.

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Discussion Highlights

The meeting focused on interviewing two finalists for the Town Administrator position, utilizing 15-minute blocks with prepared questions.
Candidates identified financial constraints and providing adequate services with limited income as primary challenges for small municipalities.
Candidates proposed line-by-line budget reviews, seeking input from the Select Board and Finance Committee, and leveraging tools like the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and grants.
The Town Administrator role was described as balancing day-to-day operations with long-term strategic implementation, with success measured by improved efficiency, accessibility, and tangible positive outcomes.
Candidates emphasized maintaining composure, addressing concerns directly, and acting as a resource to bridge gaps when interacting with difficult individuals.
Strategies for managing with limited support included improving efficiency through existing processes and technology, assessing departmental strengths, and aligning with town goals.
Candidates proposed calmly communicating concerns, explaining potential negative impacts, and tabling items for further discussion and information gathering when faced with detrimental policy decisions.
Proposed methods for improving communication included website enhancement, utilizing local media (cable/video on demand, live broadcasts), social media, department head meetings, and an open-door policy.
One candidate clarified her full-time consultant status and expressed commitment to the Town Administrator role if hired, citing a desire for a more traditional schedule.
The board discussed the potential of reallocating "Opera Fund" money to the police budget to free up funds for other uses, pending confirmation of the exact amount available.
A $20,000 correction was made to the Board of Health budget.

Transcript (5,944 words)

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

00:00:00
In the selman's meeting the purpose of this meeting tonight is to meet with the two finalists that we have um narrowed down Our Town Administrator search too this isn't meant to be long I think I literally did like 15 minute blocks for each one of you it just gives us a
00:00:18
Chance to sit with you again and maybe ask a couple of um maybe a little bit more difficult questions to be honest with you so we do have questions in front of us that if I don't know how you want to approach this if you have your own that's fine if you want to use one of
00:00:36
These but I figured we would each ask a question and then if time permits we could you know ask another one does that seem fair enough that's fine okay perfect would you like me to come up there sure that would be great probably good for the um yeah for the microphones too so thank
00:00:55
You first of all thank you for coming back thank you so much for having me back I'm really looking forward to seeing you and good good good good good okay so my first question is what do you see as the biggest challenges facing a small community and a municipality
00:01:15
Financial uh for sure you know I know every town has unique challenges however you know Financial just it just seems to be um what a lot of people are dealing with right now across the Commonwealth so one of the things that I if I was the person that would come on board is I
00:01:35
Would take a look at the budget and come through line by line and find if there's anywhere that we could possibly save and I know I told you before that I you know I do a lot in the insurance world I do a lot in workers comp so if I can bring any of my background and experience and um hopefully save the
00:01:52

[00:00:00] in the selman's meeting the purpose of [00:00:01] this meeting tonight is to meet with the [00:00:03] two finalists that we have um narrowed [00:00:06] down Our Town Administrator search too [00:00:10] um this isn't meant to be long I think I [00:00:13] literally did like 15 minute blocks for [00:00:16] each one of you it just gives us a [00:00:18] chance to sit with you again and maybe [00:00:21] ask a couple of um maybe a little bit [00:00:24] more difficult questions to be honest [00:00:26] with you so we do have questions in [00:00:28] front of us that [00:00:30] um if I don't know how you want to [00:00:33] approach this if you have your own [00:00:34] that's fine if you want to use one of [00:00:36] these but I figured we would [00:00:38] each ask a question and then if time [00:00:41] permits we could you know ask another [00:00:43] one does that seem fair enough that's [00:00:45] fine okay perfect would you like me to [00:00:47] come up there sure that would be great [00:00:49] probably good for the um yeah for the [00:00:52] microphones too so thank [00:00:55] you first of all thank you for coming [00:00:57] back thank you so much for having me [00:00:59] back I'm really looking forward to [00:01:00] seeing you [00:01:02] and good good good good good okay so um [00:01:07] my first question is what do you see as [00:01:09] the biggest challenges facing a small [00:01:12] community and a municipality um [00:01:15] Financial uh for sure [00:01:20] um you know I know every town has unique [00:01:23] challenges however you know Financial [00:01:24] just it just seems to be um what a lot [00:01:27] of people are dealing with right now [00:01:28] across the Commonwealth [00:01:30] um so one of the things that I if I was [00:01:32] the person that would come on board is I [00:01:35] would take a look at the budget and come [00:01:36] through line by line and find if there's [00:01:38] anywhere that we could possibly save and [00:01:42] um I know I told you before that I you [00:01:44] know I do a lot in the insurance world I [00:01:46] do a lot in workers comp so if I can [00:01:48] bring any of my background and [00:01:49] experience and um hopefully save the [00:01:52] town a little bit of money I will [00:01:57] okay um [00:02:00] how much your the budget is a big part [00:02:03] of your job M how much input would you [00:02:06] want from the board of Selectmen and the [00:02:09] finance committee as you crafted that [00:02:12] budget well especially initially a lot [00:02:15] um because you all know the town way [00:02:17] more than I would walking in the door um [00:02:20] I would look at you know the you know [00:02:22] last five years you know look at [00:02:24] projections going forward the F the next [00:02:26] five years um but a but a lot initially [00:02:29] um do I know my way around a budget [00:02:31] absolutely so definitely you know bring [00:02:33] bring that to heart maybe I have a a [00:02:35] unique perspective maybe I have a [00:02:36] different way of doing things but I'll [00:02:38] be working very closely with the finance [00:02:39] committee um and making sure that it's [00:02:41] in the best interest of the [00:02:44] Town thanks thank [00:02:47] you how would you describe your approach [00:02:50] to the role of Town Administrator how [00:02:52] would you measure your own success what [00:02:55] indicators would you look for in the [00:02:57] first year and what about in five years [00:02:59] years or 10 years [00:03:02] come um so my goal is to make an impact [00:03:07] it's not to change Hardwick um where [00:03:11] will they be areas where maybe I have [00:03:12] some different ways and different [00:03:14] efficiencies that I can bring to [00:03:15] Hardwick But ultimately the efficiencies [00:03:17] and maybe the changes that I would make [00:03:20] I don't want to change Hardwick I want [00:03:22] to change you know how we do things to [00:03:24] make more make it more efficient whether [00:03:26] it is bringing technology I spent a lot [00:03:28] of time on your website [00:03:30] um so just you know making sure that the [00:03:33] information is out there and easily [00:03:34] accessible to the community and you know [00:03:37] what is the best way to do that what is [00:03:39] the best way what works best for the [00:03:40] residents here may not be what works [00:03:42] best in Palmer or belard town or [00:03:43] whatever um so finding what works best [00:03:46] for the town and um getting that [00:03:49] information out there I also would like [00:03:51] to be very accessible in town and I [00:03:53] would like to you know be out in the [00:03:54] community yes there's a lot of work in [00:03:55] the office but I also want to be a part [00:03:57] of the community um so if I can [00:03:59] accomplish that if I can maybe bring [00:04:01] some of my background and experience [00:04:03] whether it be in you know Municipal [00:04:05] Finance would it be grant writing or you [00:04:07] know insurance or Labor Relations just [00:04:10] making sure that we're all working [00:04:13] together we're all a team and we're [00:04:14] working in the best interest of the [00:04:15] community I don't need the recognition [00:04:18] but if I can see like you know I did [00:04:19] that like that that's you know that road [00:04:22] is paved because I I advocated for that [00:04:24] like that's that's how I that's why I [00:04:26] love to do what I [00:04:28] do thank you okay thank you [00:04:34] um what kind of people do you have [00:04:36] trouble interacting with and how do you [00:04:38] deal with [00:04:40] that trouble interacting [00:04:43] with I'd like to think that I can get [00:04:45] along with everyone um and that I can [00:04:49] definitely bridge the gap between maybe [00:04:51] different I've worked in um other [00:04:53] communities where it was very [00:04:54] contentious on the board and they just [00:04:55] didn't see eye to eye so just being that [00:04:57] bridge between those contentious board [00:04:59] members and making everything run [00:05:01] smoothly [00:05:02] um I like to be a resource [00:05:09] so um the [00:05:12] U we're kind of in a rush here I mean [00:05:16] over the last [00:05:17] month and I I never had a chance to [00:05:20] really look at the uh job description so [00:05:24] I'm hoping that down the line when we're [00:05:26] doing contract you know that there's [00:05:29] some give and take yeah um if if you [00:05:33] were the [00:05:35] interviewer um what do you think the two [00:05:38] most important criteria would be for [00:05:41] hiring someone in your [00:05:43] position um definitely experience um [00:05:47] I've never held the number one spot I've [00:05:49] only ever been the number two but I [00:05:52] think I've had experience a lot of [00:05:53] different areas and that's what I can [00:05:54] bring to Hardwick um yes you know I do [00:05:57] have obviously a lot of HR experience [00:05:59] but I do have project management [00:06:01] experience I do have grant writing [00:06:02] experience and all those things I can [00:06:04] bring I can bring here and I think it [00:06:06] would be um it'd be really exciting for [00:06:08] both for me and for the town um but I [00:06:11] think you know definitely looking at [00:06:12] someone's experience um I think [00:06:14] Municipal experience is really important [00:06:17] um I think also looking at um [00:06:21] fit um what do they like you asked me [00:06:24] you know what do I see as the biggest [00:06:26] challenges um what do I think are the [00:06:28] biggest accomplishments just making that [00:06:30] this is a big decision and I that's not [00:06:31] lost on me it's a big decision for for [00:06:34] the town it's a big decision for me I [00:06:36] wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't [00:06:37] think it would be a great fit for both [00:06:39] of us so I think that's also something [00:06:41] to look [00:06:42] at thank [00:06:44] you sure um how do you plan on managing [00:06:48] with a limited support [00:06:51] structure um yeah [00:06:53] so speaking about finance and speaking [00:06:56] about the budget you know there's not [00:06:57] endless supply of money for people um [00:07:00] but I think looking at the way we do [00:07:02] things looking at where we can be more [00:07:04] efficient whether it is you know it or [00:07:06] we talking about um technology um just [00:07:09] kind of bridging those gaps because like [00:07:11] I said that you know even if we can hire [00:07:14] people but finding them is very [00:07:15] challenging so um just kind of looking [00:07:18] at how we're doing things where are we [00:07:20] and where we want to go [00:07:30] consider the following situation your [00:07:32] elected board at a public meeting [00:07:35] appears anxious and ready to vote on an [00:07:37] important policy decision that you [00:07:39] firmly believe would be detrimental to [00:07:42] the town the issue has not been [00:07:44] discussed previously what would you do [00:07:47] and how would you do [00:07:49] it um I [00:07:53] would ask through the chair if we could [00:07:55] come back to a later meeting where we [00:07:57] have more information and put that on [00:07:59] the next [00:08:00] agenda um that's how I would handle it [00:08:03] because I don't I don't believe in [00:08:05] making decisions without having all the [00:08:07] information I would really make sure [00:08:11] that wouldn't happen to the [00:08:16] board what's Lester going to do if we H [00:08:19] you so I am no longer in ler yes um I'm [00:08:23] doing I'm working for Capital strategic [00:08:25] Solutions doing up okay she did mention [00:08:27] that in her first interview yeah yeah um [00:08:31] more like freelancing yes it's full-time [00:08:34] but um I I just work on different [00:08:36] projects in different municipalities [00:08:37] they know I'm here they know I'm looking [00:08:40] um they know this is what I want to do [00:08:42] and where I want to be they're very [00:08:43] supportive and what did L you do when [00:08:46] you [00:08:46] left I don't [00:08:50] know it's a good always a good answer um [00:08:54] I I know um in wear it took them a very [00:08:57] long time to replace me I know Milbury [00:09:01] um that was a very big decision for me [00:09:04] to leave Milbury to go to where um I [00:09:07] still talked to Stuart I told him I was [00:09:09] going to be here tonight nice okay yeah [00:09:11] he was very you know encouraging and [00:09:13] he's probably [00:09:14] watching okay so you think maybe stay if [00:09:18] we hire you you're not looking to move [00:09:21] on no go work for dph or something no [00:09:24] I'm looking to stay [00:09:27] here maybe one more sure yeah how would [00:09:31] you increase communication both [00:09:33] internally and [00:09:35] externally [00:09:37] um internally definitely with department [00:09:39] head meetings M um different department [00:09:42] meetings um definitely again like just [00:09:44] be accessible um I told you before I [00:09:47] have an open door policy um I want to [00:09:49] make sure that we all have the same [00:09:51] information so there's no well you know [00:09:53] overlap of job or duties or [00:09:55] responsibilities and um and definitely [00:09:58] with the public I saw on the website [00:10:00] that you have a newsletter um but the [00:10:02] last one was April and I'm like that is [00:10:04] such a good idea um so I like I like you [00:10:07] know things like that and just making [00:10:08] sure that the public has all the [00:10:09] information utilizing the website [00:10:10] utilizing social media and maybe if [00:10:14] having coffee with the Town [00:10:16] Administrator once a month or just [00:10:17] something just being out there in the [00:10:20] community okay anybody have anything [00:10:24] else to I would say that I checked one [00:10:26] of your references and Sean [00:10:30] yeah M you yeah jimy tell the same my [00:10:36] yeah nothing but excellent yeah you know [00:10:38] references yeah [00:10:40] so so we do have a decision to make and [00:10:42] we do have one more um finalist that we [00:10:45] are going to meet with this evening um [00:10:47] and then we are meeting tomorrow to [00:10:49] really do more discussing and possibly [00:10:52] you know vote on that appointment so you [00:10:54] will hear from us um do you have any [00:10:57] questions for us in the metime [00:11:00] I don't at this point I know if I am the [00:11:03] person that you you choose I will have a [00:11:04] lot of questions um however I just [00:11:07] really appreciate your time um I know [00:11:09] this is a big decision um and I if I'm [00:11:13] chosen I really look forward to working [00:11:14] with all of you thank you thank very [00:11:17] much thank [00:11:21] you thank you so much thank you sorry my [00:11:23] hands are sweaty that's okay mine [00:11:25] probably are too thank you so much have [00:11:27] a good trip back you too thank thank you [00:11:29] for coming take [00:11:33] care want a minute or should I [00:11:36] go is he do you think he's here oh okay [00:11:41] um I'm I'm ready I think that worked [00:11:43] well that we kind of just [00:11:45] went we ask the same question 15 minutes [00:11:49] I got to remember which ones I [00:11:53] asked just so you know so I put [00:11:57] a this one okay I did ask you I remember [00:12:00] that one and then you ask this one right [00:12:02] here yep the intera yep okay and okay I [00:12:08] ask you know a [00:12:12] [Applause] [00:12:20] couple thank you for coming in again [00:12:22] absolutely [00:12:31] all right [00:12:33] so is it warm enough out there for you [00:12:36] it is but uh yeah I [00:12:38] know the sky seems to be getting a [00:12:41] little dark so I don't know well if it [00:12:42] would rain on my garden instead of me [00:12:44] having to like go down with the [00:12:45] sprinkler when I get home that'd be [00:12:47] great anyway okay um so uh we're here [00:12:52] this isn't you know the intention of [00:12:54] this isn't to keep you all night really [00:12:56] 15 minutes or so so that we can ask some [00:12:58] more questions really sit with you again [00:13:00] um obviously you know that we've you [00:13:02] know gotten narrowed it down to two [00:13:04] finalists so we will make our decision [00:13:07] um probably tomorrow night we have't we [00:13:09] kind of booked another meeting just for [00:13:11] discussion and possibly you know voting [00:13:13] on that appointment um my first question [00:13:16] for you is what do you see as the [00:13:18] biggest challenge facing small [00:13:21] municipalities um you know I think [00:13:24] there's um you know a lot of the the [00:13:26] challenges that Shirley has which is a [00:13:28] small municipality [00:13:29] um we're you know we're a rural [00:13:32] character you know just like hardwood [00:13:35] and you know I think in shirely 89% of [00:13:39] our Revenue you know comes from [00:13:41] residential taxes um there's very little [00:13:45] commercial um it's not a dual uh split [00:13:47] tax rate um and so I saw a lot of [00:13:50] similarities that's why uh you know hard [00:13:52] work appeal to me and you know I think [00:13:55] that's just going to be a challenge [00:13:56] coming up with um you know unique ways [00:13:59] to make sure that you're providing the [00:14:01] proper Services um and all of that uh [00:14:04] with your limited income and I you know [00:14:06] I think there are you know unique ways [00:14:07] of doing them I I think you guys from [00:14:10] you know from what I can see a lot of um [00:14:13] you know [00:14:13] regionalization uh I think that helps um [00:14:17] you know there's there's things that um [00:14:19] Charley went through recently um like [00:14:22] the community preservation act um it [00:14:24] just assists and bring in a little bit [00:14:27] more um revenue and OB obviously it's [00:14:29] limited on what you can can use it [00:14:31] towards um but there's a there's a state [00:14:35] matching um portion of that so uh this [00:14:39] was the first year that that Shirley um [00:14:41] had instituted um the CPA um and it [00:14:45] brought in uh about [00:14:48] 102,000 uh additional um taxes uh that [00:14:53] was the town's portion and then about [00:14:55] you know [00:14:56] 22,000 uh from the state's matching [00:14:59] so and then of course obviously um you [00:15:02] know looking into grants I know the last [00:15:04] time that I was here um you know we just [00:15:07] recently done um as you said you had [00:15:09] done as well you know shared streets and [00:15:12] complete streets [00:15:13] so yeah okay thank you er um and when [00:15:19] you craft the budget uh the yearly [00:15:22] budget how much would you want input [00:15:25] from the board select the select board [00:15:28] and [00:15:29] finance committee um well you know in my [00:15:33] experience um there's um you know a fair [00:15:37] amount of uh involvement with the [00:15:39] finance committee um and the select [00:15:42] board is is obviously needs to be kept a [00:15:44] breast of of the challenges of you know [00:15:47] I I think with the select board it's [00:15:49] really setting um you know communicating [00:15:52] to the 10 administrator you know the [00:15:54] initiatives are the pretty much the [00:15:57] broad strategic um view of you know [00:16:02] where you want to go over the next [00:16:03] couple years and the Town Administrator [00:16:05] carrying that out um you know I think uh [00:16:09] it relies heavily on you know working [00:16:11] with the department heads um and in [00:16:14] conjunction with the the finance [00:16:15] committee um in my experience in Shirley [00:16:18] um the finance committee has been you [00:16:20] know very much involved I was previous [00:16:23] to being a a select board member in [00:16:24] Shirley I was on the finance committee [00:16:27] um for for I I think it was you know [00:16:31] close to six years I was the chair for [00:16:33] the last uh two and a half so [00:16:37] okay thank [00:16:39] you sure how would you describe your [00:16:42] approach to the role of Town [00:16:44] Administrator how would you measure your [00:16:45] own success what indicators would you [00:16:48] look for in the first year and what [00:16:51] about in year five or year 10 um so I [00:16:55] think a Town Administrator is taking you [00:16:58] know Main you [00:16:59] know Strate strategy and things of that [00:17:02] nature you know that direction from the [00:17:04] select board um and I see it you know in [00:17:08] two ways one is you know making sure the [00:17:11] day-to-day tasks are are taken care of [00:17:15] um and and that's going to be ongoing [00:17:18] also dealing with different um things [00:17:21] that arise as I think the last time that [00:17:23] we spoke um you know I see that very [00:17:26] similar to my position as the general [00:17:28] manager of restaurant where things will [00:17:30] happen there'll be vacancies that need [00:17:31] to be filled there'll be you know [00:17:33] equipment that needs to be addressed [00:17:35] there'll be some you know some Capital [00:17:37] issue um but but then at the same time [00:17:41] being able to juggle those complete [00:17:43] those tasks you know meet your deadlines [00:17:45] things of that nature um but also you [00:17:49] know keeping you know the the long-term [00:17:52] goal and strategy that that the select [00:17:54] board you know the the policy that they [00:17:57] you know are kind of setting um carrying [00:18:00] that out [00:18:02] so thank [00:18:04] you okay um are there certain people [00:18:08] that you have trouble interacting with [00:18:10] and if there are how would you deal with [00:18:13] them uh so I think in any municipal [00:18:16] government you're going to have um you [00:18:19] know you know some people might be more [00:18:22] difficult to deal with than others um [00:18:25] you know I I think typically um [00:18:30] I've I've had a positive experience for [00:18:31] the most part where um any any people [00:18:35] that have major issues um a lot of it [00:18:38] tends to be that they're concerned about [00:18:40] something and as long as you address [00:18:42] that concern a lot of times it goes away [00:18:44] I mean there's there's definitely times [00:18:45] where there's been people um you know [00:18:49] that that are let's just say you know [00:18:52] getting carried away but if if you [00:18:55] remain calm um you you know you remain [00:18:58] respect [00:18:59] and dress them um you know I think it's [00:19:02] always easier you know I I've had um you [00:19:06] know we're um we're a family restaurant [00:19:10] as well um so as a general manager um [00:19:13] you know they're once again I've been [00:19:15] fortunate where you know we're not [00:19:17] really a major we're not like a bar [00:19:19] scene um you know where you have to shut [00:19:21] you know multiple people off every night [00:19:23] but there's been scenarios where I've [00:19:25] had to shut people off there's been [00:19:26] scenarios where there's been [00:19:27] altercations you know between um you [00:19:31] know customers to an extent um so so I [00:19:34] do have a fair amount of experience with [00:19:38] that so how would you deal with us if we [00:19:41] went off the rails you know if you're [00:19:44] dealing with somebody that you're kind [00:19:47] of in charge of and supervising that's [00:19:50] what we were just talking about but how [00:19:52] about if it was the people who are [00:19:55] supervising you but you're committed [00:19:57] that [00:19:59] you know we're making a bad decision um [00:20:02] I think trying to communicate um you [00:20:05] know my you know what my thoughts are um [00:20:09] trying to me on my end trying to [00:20:12] understand you know where you would be [00:20:14] coming from um and what your thoughts [00:20:16] are I think at the end of the day um as [00:20:19] I said the you know the select board is [00:20:24] um elected to you know set the policy [00:20:27] and give direction to the Town [00:20:29] Administrator um I I feel as though my [00:20:33] interaction with the town Minister that [00:20:34] we've had in Shirley uh all the time [00:20:36] that I've been a select board member um [00:20:39] I've gotten along very well with him um [00:20:42] and so I haven't had a lot of issues um [00:20:45] but every once in a while you know [00:20:46] there'll be something where you know we [00:20:48] don't see exactly eye to eye um and you [00:20:52] know I think he he tends to um you know [00:20:57] have to [00:20:59] you know follow the direction of the [00:21:00] majority of the select board so you know [00:21:03] with with other select board members um [00:21:06] I've had a great work in relationship [00:21:07] with with all of them or all two of them [00:21:10] um but uh you know but yeah there's [00:21:14] definitely times where um you know where [00:21:17] we don't agree on you know on the same [00:21:20] topic and vote differently but you know [00:21:22] as long as you you know keep that [00:21:24] respectful um and and reasonable then it [00:21:28] has been an [00:21:30] issue thank [00:21:32] you how do you plan on managing with a [00:21:35] limited S [00:21:38] structure um you know I I think um [00:21:43] getting to understand what the [00:21:45] challenges of the town are um getting to [00:21:48] know um people's strengths and [00:21:50] weaknesses getting to know what um you [00:21:52] know the department heads uh you know [00:21:54] what their roles are exactly um so [00:21:57] really having full understanding of um [00:22:01] you know what that support system is [00:22:03] identifying kind of what the what the [00:22:05] challenges would be and trying to [00:22:07] address them um and you know if you have [00:22:11] a limited you know there's a department [00:22:13] that has um you [00:22:16] know more limited support and and it's [00:22:19] the direction the town wants to go in [00:22:20] you know I think that's a goal that you [00:22:22] you know you try and work [00:22:25] towards thank you consider the following [00:22:29] situation your elected board at a public [00:22:31] meeting appears anxious and ready to [00:22:32] vote on an important policy decision [00:22:35] that you believe would DET be [00:22:38] detrimental to the town the issue has [00:22:40] not been discussed previously what would [00:22:43] you do and how would you do it um you [00:22:46] know once again you know trying to [00:22:48] calmly communicate you know my you know [00:22:51] my thoughts my concerns um you know [00:22:54] communicate why I think it would be [00:22:56] detrimental um and and you know [00:22:59] ultimately try and um you know delay to [00:23:04] an extent of you know decisions can be [00:23:07] made at every meeting um uh you know [00:23:10] there's been scenarios where um you know [00:23:13] my my last uh select board meeting um [00:23:17] there was uh there was a topic that was [00:23:20] involving um a change in essentially um [00:23:25] some of the protocols of uh you know the [00:23:28] AR committee and uh I was prepared to [00:23:33] vote on and I think my my two colleagues [00:23:35] were um you know residents uh in this [00:23:39] case maybe not you know the the Town [00:23:41] Administrator but you know residents had [00:23:44] um voiced some concern uh and so in the [00:23:49] end you know though I was prepared to [00:23:51] vote on it it was on the agenda to vote [00:23:54] um we ultimately um decided to um put it [00:23:59] table until the next meeting um which [00:24:01] then I I think it gives more time to to [00:24:05] understand the situation to understand [00:24:06] those concerns and and you know whether [00:24:09] it's dealing with employees whether it's [00:24:10] dealing with um you know residents that [00:24:14] tends to be you know I think the main [00:24:17] the main reason of municipal government [00:24:20] is to listen to the you know L listen to [00:24:24] the you know concerns of the residents [00:24:27] and address them um [00:24:30] so thank [00:24:33] you um I agree that's the only reason [00:24:36] for [00:24:37] government [00:24:40] um pick out of two skill sets that you [00:24:44] will need for this [00:24:46] job um you know I think being able to UM [00:24:52] multitask um so for instance I you I [00:24:56] think um there's certain things [00:24:59] you know whether you're preparing the [00:25:02] budget or or whether you're making sure [00:25:04] that um you know you have warrants [00:25:06] posted or whether you're you're making [00:25:09] sure that um you're doing the you know [00:25:12] yearend budget transfers um those are [00:25:15] all things you know that you that you're [00:25:18] going to have to do on a regular basis [00:25:19] I'm sure there's also going to be you [00:25:21] know larger capital projects or or [00:25:23] things of that nature but then as I said [00:25:26] um things are going to come up there's [00:25:28] going to be disrupt [00:25:30] disruptions if it's not every day it's [00:25:33] going to definitely be every week [00:25:34] something's going to come up and you [00:25:36] have to be able to to handle that and um [00:25:39] you know be able to multitask it uh so I [00:25:42] think that's one um and I think you know [00:25:47] for me um you know having a a cal [00:25:50] reasonable approach has been my Approach [00:25:52] um on almost any border committee that [00:25:55] I've been on um it's it was my same [00:25:57] approach as the general manager of the [00:25:59] restaurant for 15 years um and I think [00:26:02] that's key I think very often um you [00:26:05] know if you know if you're in a [00:26:07] leadership position as a Town [00:26:09] Administrator um you know I do think [00:26:11] it's important to have you know that you [00:26:15] know that leader um being able to to [00:26:18] remain calm and address things in a [00:26:21] reasonable manner [00:26:23] um so those would be two two skill setes [00:26:28] thank you sure how would you increase [00:26:32] communication both internally and [00:26:36] externally um so uh you know there's [00:26:40] things like um you know the website that [00:26:43] you could make um you know more user [00:26:45] friendly uh so for instance uh we just [00:26:49] upgraded um our website just just more [00:26:53] recently um you know I [00:26:56] think address say um you know what are [00:27:00] your kind of what are your your cable or [00:27:03] video on demand um needs or the [00:27:06] situation uh we we upgraded our Shirley [00:27:09] media website um about a year ago uh we [00:27:13] we received grants to get um before our [00:27:16] town meeting would be on a taped door um [00:27:19] our other meetings uh had been um you [00:27:23] know you can watch live um you know but [00:27:25] town meeting that would be a you know [00:27:27] that's a significant [00:27:28] um you know we held it in on our [00:27:31] Auditorium um so those would be ways I [00:27:34] also think that we utilize um social [00:27:36] media quite a bit um and very often I [00:27:40] can tell you you know if I'm trying to [00:27:43] remember what day and what time the such [00:27:46] and such um forum is you know yes I can [00:27:50] go on the website but very often I just [00:27:52] you know go on the Shirley Mass [00:27:54] residents Facebook page um and you know [00:27:58] it seems to be you know pretty easy to [00:28:01] find so okay [00:28:04] thank anything else just uh your [00:28:08] reference your police chief thinks [00:28:11] you're a great guy oh excellent that's [00:28:13] good to [00:28:15] hear yeah your references came back [00:28:18] right excellent excellent everybody [00:28:20] speaks very highly your only weakness [00:28:22] was that you worked too [00:28:24] much okay well that's honestly that was [00:28:27] a question I asked asked everybody you [00:28:29] know any well that was um you know the [00:28:32] main reason for for me looking to and I [00:28:36] do it's I love the restaurant business [00:28:39] and I you [00:28:40] know especially because it's my family's [00:28:43] business um and you know I'll I'll miss [00:28:46] that to an extent of you know I have my [00:28:50] um a lot of my nieces and nephews are [00:28:52] our fourth generation now so I'm part of [00:28:54] the third generation um they're all all [00:28:57] working there that's they're mainly bus [00:28:59] bus boys bus girls expediters um but uh [00:29:03] you know it's just like I said the [00:29:05] nights the weekends the holidays I'm [00:29:07] looking for more of a cral schedule and [00:29:10] she told me that too so yeah do you have [00:29:13] anything else no I'm good thank you so [00:29:16] like I said we didn't want to keep you [00:29:17] here all night and we do appreciate you [00:29:19] making the drive out here for you know [00:29:21] maybe a small amount of time but we [00:29:22] wanted to be face to face again with you [00:29:24] and and ask some like maybe more [00:29:27] difficult questions to see um you know [00:29:30] what your thoughts were on that do you [00:29:32] have any questions of us before you know [00:29:35] I don't think so I I was you know [00:29:36] wondering about the timeline um and [00:29:38] obviously you addressed that yep so so [00:29:41] we're going to meet again tomorrow night [00:29:42] yep and um you know hopefully make a [00:29:45] decision if anyone needs more time it [00:29:48] may you know take a little bit more time [00:29:50] but you know see how tomorrow night goes [00:29:52] we figured we would we would meet [00:29:54] tonight everyone can go home and maybe [00:29:56] digest everything and you know then [00:29:59] tomorrow night we'll we'll come back [00:30:01] together again to to have a good [00:30:02] discussion about everything great well I [00:30:05] look forward to hearing from you [00:30:06] excellent thank you thank you so much [00:30:08] absolutely have a nice night thank you [00:30:10] you too thanks Bri thank you see you [00:30:14] [Applause] [00:30:17] y the only other thing we had was to [00:30:20] sign the warrant um but we did that last [00:30:22] night so we're good okay um did you [00:30:25] happen to get any information from the [00:30:28] today in the offer points chance [00:30:31] no [00:30:34] no um just to see told [00:30:37] me S the round table yeah it's in the [00:30:42] book in the back of the book it's [00:30:44] printed yes posted printed ready to go [00:30:47] committed see that so [00:30:50] um no I didn't hear right okay but [00:30:53] you'll follow up with her and just yeah [00:30:55] I mean um again it's nothing that we can [00:30:57] use use for the budget but she she [00:31:01] mentioned that money's available or [00:31:03] possibly available and depending on that [00:31:06] we could possibly move some money around [00:31:08] like move that Opera fund to fund the [00:31:10] police and then take that police money [00:31:12] that we used put it back in free cash I [00:31:14] mean just but we need to know the number [00:31:16] first no absolutely no absolutely yeah [00:31:20] um not to get in anything no no no no [00:31:22] that's fine [00:31:25] um going to have to have another meeting [00:31:29] well we are on the fifth yeah maybe even [00:31:32] enough I hope not I hope yeah I mean [00:31:36] enough is Ryan suggested moving the town [00:31:39] meeting and I said no we already sign [00:31:41] the I didn't we got figure it out you [00:31:43] guys had a you know and then we we got [00:31:46] through it last night so you know we [00:31:48] signed it so yeah and I and I made the [00:31:50] correction to the 20,000 On The Board of [00:31:52] Health so okay everything yeah [00:31:54] everything is what you guys were looking [00:31:56] at Perfect [00:32:00] I I would definitely move that be a [00:32:02] chair I second the motion all in favor