Brookline Select Board Meeting - April 14, 2026

Paul Warren I David Pearlman I. Michael Rubenstein I and chair votes I. Select board will reconvene and open session after our executive session recording

So, that wouldn't be it's it's not something that we do, right? We don't we can't we don't have public hearings for contracts. Um so she's asking for a public hearing given that this contract is somewhat you guys have re

He's the optimistic member of our So, I think people want to deliver the public comment before we vote on item nine.

So that policy really only covered mill overlay projects, which have from what I have seen only happened on small residential streets in the last couple years.

Town leadership has known how dangerous Harvard Street is for cyclists for decades and presumably knew it was due for paving. Yet, it appears the town failed to contemplate even basic incremental protective safety improv

We also fully support the town's adoption of vision zero, which is an approach to road safety that says that the status quo is not okay. It challenges decades of transportation policy that prioritize motor vehicles motor

The vis vision zero plan adopted by the town created a roadmap to achieve its goals of zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2035.

A critical part of that roadmap is assessing overlap between high priority streets in the pavement management policy and top priority streets in the vision zero action plan and determining where safety improvements can b

Addington Road and I bike on Harvard Street through Harvard Street all the time. That's where our shops are, our restaurants, the bayas, my eyeglass place, the opticians, shoe repair, everything. It's always there. You k

And it's why I'm here tonight. Another reason is that I'm conscious. Well, sorry. Uh, so why am I riding my bike? I can drive my large secure SUV that would plow through most of the other street occupants in the event of

Next uh the miscellaneous calendar and I'd like to move uh by this approval uh items 5 A through 5J unless someone would like to pull something out. Yes.

Paul Bernard, could we actually hold out 5F um to have a conversation about it for the vote?

That roster of names will be brought before the select board for the select board's approval. Uh so this contract would be helpful so that we can proceed with a conceptual design and obviously the design committee uh to

Yes. The RFP for the pool which by the way has been amended to include Lars Anderson or the request of the public but to David's point I think.

Okay. So I move approval of items 5A

Okay. Thank you. Um, I move approval of

approve the request by Laruso uh related waiver. I think I misread read that. Uh

leverage for a tax certainty agreement with city realy we're going to have an MOA we don't yet have MOAS with the other parcel owners now I'm not saying it's impossible that we could reach some kind of MOA agreement with

Uh so, the light green here is WS development. They own the street uh on the Newton side and uh WS has I believe it was last week they submitted a letter formally opposing the zoning. They're concerned about the minimum

Can I ask a quick question? Yes. Just to clarify on on WS development. Um they did they opposed it for the parking minimums as you mentioned, but they also have very significant concern about the traffic pattern. uh they

only part of the zoning. There might be other portions of it that we could move forward at this time, but I agree with you that the growth company's part, which is essentially zoned exactly the same or close to exactly t

Well, we're not Well, we're not asking we're not getting rid of ICE with the with the uh the thing that we just voted on. No, I'm I'm saying, you know, the fact that there are good things that brick does is important, bu