Brookline Select Board Meeting - January 13, 2026

6:30 Good evening. I'm Bernard Green, chair

6:32 of the Brooklyn Select Board, and this

6:34 is the regular meeting of the select

6:36 board for January 13, 2026.

6:42 First item of business is going into

6:43 executive session. I move that the

6:46 select board go into executive session

6:49 for the purpose of one approving

6:51 executive session minutes and two

6:54 discussing strategy related to real

6:56 property. The real property matter is

6:58 being held in executive session because

7:01 an open meeting discussion of the

7:03 acquisition, lease, holding or

7:05 disposition

7:07 of real property may have a detrimental

7:10 effect on the bargaining position of the

7:12 town. And the chair so declares an

7:15 executive session therefore to be

7:17 necessary. All in favor please indicate

7:20 by saying I. John Dcoy

7:22 I.

7:23 David Cman

7:24 I. [clears throat]

7:25 Michael

7:26 Michael Rubenstein

7:27 I

7:28 and chair votes eye.

7:30 Uh we will return to open session after

7:33 our executive session meeting. Thank

7:34 you.

7:38 Recording stopped.

1:21:07 [music]

1:38:19 Good evening. I'm Bernard Green and this

1:38:21 is the regular meeting of the select

1:38:24 board for January

1:38:26 13, 2026.

1:38:29 Uh let's start off with um announcements

1:38:32 and updates from the select board. And

1:38:34 I'd like to start by saying to uh saying

1:38:38 that want to introduce our new uh stage

1:38:42 director uh Melanie Oatska

1:38:45 um who comes to us from the town of

1:38:47 Southboro and uh we welcome her. She's

1:38:50 been on the job for about a week now and

1:38:53 uh we're very excited about uh how she

1:38:56 can help get our organization here um

1:39:00 organized and focused.

1:39:04 So

1:39:06 next I want to remind people of the

1:39:08 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

1:39:10 Committee's annual event on MLK Day on

1:39:13 January 19 at the Coolage Corner

1:39:15 Theater. Our keynote speaker will be Dr.

1:39:19 the leeways of Brown University who will

1:39:22 discuss the pivotable pivotal role of

1:39:26 education in King's organizing and in

1:39:29 the success of the civil rights

1:39:31 movement. The program will also include

1:39:34 two poet laurates. uh first uh

1:39:37 Brooklyn's port laurate Allison Adair

1:39:40 and second very special poet laurate the

1:39:44 uh inaugural Massachusetts

1:39:47 poet laurate uh Reggie Gibson and many

1:39:49 of you will know Reggie Gibson from the

1:39:52 many years that he has participated in

1:39:54 uh the MLK program as well as various

1:39:58 programs at the high school and and

1:39:59 elsewhere here in town. As always, it

1:40:02 will be an event that will inspire,

1:40:04 challenge, and educate.

1:40:07 And finally, um, you know, on Wednesday,

1:40:10 you may recall that masked federal

1:40:13 agents

1:40:14 dressed for war

1:40:17 brutally killed Renee Nicole Good in

1:40:20 Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1:40:22 Now, that's a far that's a town far far

1:40:25 away from Brooklyn, but we all should be

1:40:27 concerned about this turn of events

1:40:30 where our federal government has, in my

1:40:33 opinion, declared war on American

1:40:36 citizens. The killing of an American

1:40:39 citizen on American soil was without

1:40:42 just cause a conclusion based on my

1:40:45 viewing of [clears throat] the various

1:40:47 videos of the incident with my own eyes.

1:40:50 So I'm not going to let someone say that

1:40:53 I should believe them and not my lying

1:40:55 eyes. My li my eyes were very very uh

1:40:59 perceptive. Uh we are all angry with

1:41:03 this act of barbarity and many of us uh

1:41:07 will be marching in the future and

1:41:08 marched last week

1:41:11 um to put a stop to it to try to put a

1:41:14 stop to it. In that context, I released

1:41:17 a statement titled The Shot Heard Around

1:41:20 the Country,

1:41:22 acknowledging that people will and

1:41:25 should be angry and take to the streets

1:41:27 to exercise their First Amendment rights

1:41:30 and in [clears throat] my opinion, First

1:41:31 Amendment duty

1:41:33 to stand up when something outrageous

1:41:35 like this happening happens, but

1:41:38 reminding them that our real power, our

1:41:41 only power against the armed might of uh

1:41:45 this administration is our peaceful

1:41:48 nonviolence

1:41:50 confrontation of this evil. That's a

1:41:52 powerful tool much more powerful than

1:41:55 the guns uh that will be arrayed against

1:41:58 us. And uh I just urge people not to be

1:42:01 allow not allow themselves to be baited

1:42:04 into uh uh confrontations with the uh

1:42:08 these federal um agents uh that could

1:42:13 result in violence and a destructive

1:42:16 result um and undermine our efforts to

1:42:21 to address uh what what what is a scary

1:42:24 situation in this country. So that's my

1:42:28 statement. [clears throat]

1:42:29 If anyone would like to see my full

1:42:31 statement, just let me know and I'll

1:42:33 I'll email it to you. But any other

1:42:36 comments on Michael?

1:42:37 Uh I have two short announcements. Um

1:42:41 the first is that on December 23rd um

1:42:45 this select board uh made a decision to

1:42:49 uh provide public comment to the

1:42:52 department of public utilities relating

1:42:54 to the GEP program which is a gas uh

1:42:58 system replacement program. Um uh this

1:43:02 week um we have in the attachments to

1:43:06 the uh to the u materials for this

1:43:11 meeting um a series of letters from

1:43:13 other municipalities uh including um a

1:43:16 letter from a member of our town meeting

1:43:19 uh uh the municipalities of Boston,

1:43:23 Lexington, Arlington and many others um

1:43:26 in holding similar positions to our

1:43:28 town. um if anybody is interested in the

1:43:31 collective impact um of which we are

1:43:34 participating.

1:43:37 Uh the second announcement is that the

1:43:39 Brookline Commission for Women uh is

1:43:42 excited and proud to announce its annual

1:43:44 women of the year event to be held on

1:43:47 Wednesday, March 11th. This event

1:43:51 celebrates women who have shared their

1:43:54 time, resources, minds, and souls to

1:43:57 better the community that they live in

1:43:59 or they serve or to the larger community

1:44:02 of Brooklyn. Nominations for women of

1:44:05 the year will be accepted until February

1:44:08 14th at 6 pm. You can find the

1:44:12 nomination form on the Brooklyn

1:44:14 Commission for Women web page on the

1:44:17 town's website or the commission's

1:44:20 Facebook page. And you can also contact

1:44:23 Eileen Lee, chair of the Brooklyn

1:44:25 Commission for Women. I want to

1:44:27 encourage everyone to share this

1:44:30 information with your network um and to

1:44:32 submit a nomination or two. Um, the

1:44:35 Brookline Commission for Women looks

1:44:36 forward to receiving these nominations

1:44:39 because they remind us of the efforts

1:44:42 put forth by all women of Brooklyn.

1:44:46 That's it.

1:44:47 Thank you. Any other John?

1:44:50 Uh, thank you very much. Uh, on the

1:44:52 seboard, uh, we have received a number

1:44:55 of emails. I'm assuming the other

1:44:56 members have received them uh in

1:44:58 addition to myself um from people in in

1:45:01 the community who are understandably

1:45:03 very attuned to the situation in Iran

1:45:07 and very concerned about it and um are

1:45:11 you know hopeful that there will be some

1:45:13 way that support for the people of Iran

1:45:16 can be expressed by the people of

1:45:18 Brooklyn. um they they they are

1:45:23 absolutely um right to be concerned and

1:45:27 they have the right idea in sort of

1:45:29 spreading the word with the select board

1:45:31 and asking for us to think about whether

1:45:34 there's any further expression that we

1:45:35 can make uh of the concern uh of people

1:45:38 in Brooklyn for the situation in Iran. I

1:45:41 would point out though that um you know

1:45:44 letter writing campaigns are great up to

1:45:46 a point, but one of the one of the

1:45:48 downsides of them is that when a select

1:45:51 board member such as myself tries to

1:45:53 respond in dialogue with people, it

1:45:56 turns out that um that doesn't really

1:45:59 happen. Um that you know there's sort of

1:46:01 a filter that the reply goes to and it

1:46:04 doesn't go to the actual person. Um, so

1:46:07 I I welcome people to write to the

1:46:09 select board about the situation in

1:46:11 Iran. I'd actually like to learn more

1:46:13 about it from them and I'd like to see

1:46:17 what expression we on the me as members

1:46:19 of the select board might want to make

1:46:21 in the future. Um, it's a situation

1:46:23 that's changing day day by day. It's

1:46:25 very perilous. Um, but I just want

1:46:28 people who have expressed concern to

1:46:30 know that we share that concern. um even

1:46:32 if um when we reply to letters that come

1:46:35 to us via some sort of a campaign,

1:46:38 sometimes those letters don't reach you.

1:46:40 But I I really do want to have a

1:46:41 dialogue if we can.

1:46:45 Okay, any other updates or comments?

1:46:49 Hey, let's move on to public comment. Uh

1:46:52 um Melanie, open up public comment for

1:46:54 us with a reading of the rules.

1:46:56 Okay. Thank you for joining us for

1:46:58 public comment. This is an opportunity

1:47:00 for us to hear your perspective on the

1:47:02 issues in Brooklyn that matter to you.

1:47:04 Each person speaking tonight is limited

1:47:06 to three minutes. You don't need to use

1:47:08 the entire time, but you may if you

1:47:10 like. Once 15 minutes has been met,

1:47:13 there is an opportunity at the

1:47:14 conclusion of the select board's

1:47:15 business for additional comments.

1:47:17 Members of the public sometimes raise

1:47:19 questions during public comment. We may

1:47:22 be able to provide a quick answer to a

1:47:24 question, but are more likely to work

1:47:25 with staff to get a more thorough answer

1:47:27 and respond over email.

1:47:29 The onscreen timer will flash orange

1:47:31 when you have one minute remaining and

1:47:33 red when your time is nearly up. Please

1:47:35 conclude your remarks at that time. If

1:47:38 you have more to say, you are welcome to

1:47:40 send an email to board members

1:47:42 expressing your thoughts in greater

1:47:43 detail. Any person person wishing wish

1:47:46 wishing to speak must begin their

1:47:47 comments by identifying themselves with

1:47:49 their full name, either their Brookline

1:47:52 precinct number or street address, and

1:47:53 the specific topic on wish on which they

1:47:56 wish to speak. The board encourages but

1:47:58 but does not require that remote users

1:48:00 turn their video on when commenting.

1:48:04 A first person signed up for public

1:48:06 comment is Charlie Homer.

1:48:09 You can join us at the presentation

1:48:11 station and your three minutes will

1:48:13 begin.

1:48:14 Great. Thank you very much. Thank you

1:48:16 for the honor and opportunity to speak

1:48:18 with you. My name is Charlie Homer. I'm

1:48:20 a town meeting member in precinct 8 and

1:48:22 I'm chair of the advisory council of on

1:48:24 public health and I'm speaking on behalf

1:48:25 of the council. My comments tonight are

1:48:28 in strong support of a proposal from the

1:48:30 department of health and human services

1:48:32 to establish two bewell vending machines

1:48:35 that will provide essential

1:48:36 healthpromoting products anonymously and

1:48:39 without charge and for them to be placed

1:48:41 outside two of our public libraries in

1:48:44 Koolage Corner and in Brooklyn Village.

1:48:46 As you likely have read in your

1:48:48 materials and will hear in far greater

1:48:50 detail from our outstanding public

1:48:51 health director, John Klashinsky, these

1:48:54 vending machines will dispense

1:48:55 nlloxxone, fentanyl, nlloxxone, fentanyl

1:48:58 and xylene test kits, and in addition,

1:49:00 we'll dispense safe sex kits for the

1:49:02 prevention of sexually transmitted

1:49:04 infections, personal hygiene kits, and

1:49:06 other like healthpromoting materials.

1:49:09 Last night, the ACPH unanimously and

1:49:12 enthusiastically voted in support of

1:49:14 this program and urges your

1:49:16 implementation. Our country has finally

1:49:18 seen a dramatic decrease in deaths due

1:49:20 to opioids in large part due to the

1:49:22 widespread availability of an aloxxone.

1:49:25 And we're all well aware of the homeless

1:49:27 population in our community and these

1:49:29 materials can be of assistance in

1:49:31 helping them maintain their health and

1:49:32 well-being. This is what public health

1:49:35 is all about. I'd also like to emphasize

1:49:38 that ACPH believes the selection of

1:49:40 these libraries as a p as the preferred

1:49:42 location is a particularly inspired

1:49:44 choice. Libraries are safe places used

1:49:48 by many who have few other places to go.

1:49:50 [clears throat] They serve as shelters

1:49:51 from the cold and places to stay cool

1:49:54 during heat waves. They have computers

1:49:56 so people can find resources, search for

1:49:58 jobs, and more. These are exactly where

1:50:00 these resources should be located. Thank

1:50:03 you for your consideration and we urge

1:50:05 your support for the program. Thank you.

1:50:08 Thank you.

1:50:11 [clears throat]

1:50:14 Anyone else signed up?

1:50:17 Nobody in person and there's nobody

1:50:19 indicating that they're raising their

1:50:21 hand in the waiting room.

1:50:23 Okay. So, we'll close public comment and

1:50:26 move on to our miscellaneous agenda. Um,

1:50:29 I'd like to take items uh 6B to 6E in

1:50:34 omnous fashion except for item 6 C which

1:50:37 we which we will defer until January

1:50:40 27th. Um, but I'd like to say something

1:50:43 about 6C.

1:50:45 U, unfortunately the material in our

1:50:48 packet for item 6C gave an unclear

1:50:52 description of the purpose of the state

1:50:54 housing choice grant that we will uh be

1:50:57 receiving. Uh as a result uh many people

1:51:01 uh expressed some concern about uh what

1:51:03 this grant will be used for. The grant

1:51:06 will be used to hire a consultant to

1:51:09 organize public engagement to understand

1:51:11 what residents would like to see

1:51:13 [clears throat] at the Fisher Hill site

1:51:15 as as well as preparing test fits of

1:51:18 different use options and related costs.

1:51:21 The concern was that the uh language in

1:51:25 the packet suggested that there was a

1:51:27 bias towards uh housing um with this

1:51:31 grant program. Um

1:51:35 the [clears throat] program awards

1:51:36 grants for housing, transportation,

1:51:40 infrastructure and economic development.

1:51:44 Thus, the Fischer Hill Committee with

1:51:46 public input will evaluate municipal

1:51:49 uses and activities, historic

1:51:51 preservation, a shuttle service, and

1:51:53 housing options. The committee will make

1:51:56 multiple recommendations to the select

1:51:58 board and we will invaluate

1:52:01 the recommendations and make a decision

1:52:03 on the use of the site. Nothing is

1:52:06 pre-ordained in this process. So, um,

1:52:10 because of what what what I characterize

1:52:12 as unclear description, um, as select

1:52:15 board member asked to take this item off

1:52:18 the agenda for today and we will take it

1:52:20 up on, uh, at our next meeting on

1:52:22 January 27th. Just wanted to give people

1:52:25 some background as why that came off.

1:52:28 I'd also like to point out item 6D,

1:52:32 author, authorization to hire a clinical

1:52:34 social worker for the Council on Aging.

1:52:37 You know, we often hear that uh the

1:52:39 Council on Aging gets a very small

1:52:41 percentage of the town's budget. That's

1:52:43 partly due to the fact, for example,

1:52:45 that they don't have fire trucks or

1:52:48 heavy duty equipment or athletic fields

1:52:50 that have to be staffed and maintained

1:52:53 and funded. But what the Council on

1:52:55 Aging does have is five clinical social

1:52:58 workers, one for each day of the week.

1:53:01 They provide the support and services

1:53:03 that seniors actually need. The town and

1:53:06 its residents can be very proud that

1:53:08 those five social workers I am told

1:53:11 significantly exceeds the number of

1:53:13 social workers in surrounding similar

1:53:15 communities.

1:53:16 So percentage of town budget is not the

1:53:19 relevant metric. What is relevant is

1:53:21 providing the social workers and other

1:53:23 similar services that seniors actually

1:53:26 need. So with that comment of mine,

1:53:31 we'll move on to um um approving items

1:53:36 6B,

1:53:38 6 D, and 6E. Any other comments or

1:53:43 questions?

1:53:45 It looks like Michael

1:53:46 I'm just wondering if we're going to

1:53:47 take up 6A after

1:53:50 Oh, I'm sorry. The minutes. Yes.

1:53:52 Okay.

1:53:53 Why don't we do it after? We We usually

1:53:55 do it before. I I miss I mis mixed um

1:53:58 mixed up and we'll do it afterwards. But

1:54:01 let let's get this uh voted. All in

1:54:04 favor please indicate by saying I. John

1:54:06 Benoyak

1:54:06 I.

1:54:07 David Bowman

1:54:08 I.

1:54:08 Michael Rubenstein

1:54:09 I.

1:54:10 Chair votes I. Now back to the first

1:54:12 item on uh m the miscellaneous agenda

1:54:16 and that is the question of approving

1:54:18 the meeting minutes from December 16,

1:54:20 2026

1:54:22 and last week January 6, 2000 I'm sorry

1:54:26 December 16, 2025

1:54:29 and last week's minutes were January 6,

1:54:32 2026.

1:54:34 Any uh corrections to those minutes? If

1:54:38 not,

1:54:38 I think I had one trivia. All right.

1:54:41 Yeah, I saw that. Um, if not, uh, all in

1:54:44 favor, please indicate by saying I. John

1:54:46 Vancoyak,

1:54:47 I.

1:54:47 David Pearlman,

1:54:48 I.

1:54:48 Michael Rubenstein,

1:54:49 I.

1:54:50 Chair votes I. Okay, let's move on to

1:54:52 our main calendar. First, uh, is boards

1:54:55 and commissions interviews. Uh, and

1:54:58 this, uh, we have one candidate for the

1:55:01 Commission on Diversity, Equity,

1:55:02 Inclusion, and Community Relations. I'd

1:55:05 like to start off by saying as I've said

1:55:07 many times before um what I want to talk

1:55:12 about what the select board should be

1:55:13 looking for in a candidate for public

1:55:15 bodies in my opinion. Uh in general I

1:55:18 think we should be looking for four

1:55:19 things. Does the applicant have the

1:55:22 skills and background that is necessary

1:55:24 and required to be successful on the

1:55:26 public on the public body? Does the

1:55:29 applicant have good ideas and

1:55:30 perspectives on the work of the public

1:55:32 body? Does the applicant bring relevant

1:55:36 diversity to the public body to ensure

1:55:38 that all communities and perspectives

1:55:40 are represented in its work on behalf of

1:55:43 the town? And

1:55:46 uh finally, can the applicant work

1:55:48 effectively and respectfully with other

1:55:51 members of the public body and with the

1:55:54 town staff that will be working with

1:55:56 that body to evaluate candidates. We

1:55:59 will gather information on these areas

1:56:02 from the application submitted the

1:56:03 interview and from town staff or current

1:56:06 members of that public body.

1:56:09 [clears throat]

1:56:11 We have just one interview today. Uh

1:56:13 Masu Hak uh please come up to the podium

1:56:18 uh introduce yourself and explain why

1:56:20 you would like to be a member of the uh

1:56:22 diversity commission.

1:56:25 We'll do. Good evening gentlemen. Uh my

1:56:28 name is Masu Hawk. I live in precinct

1:56:31 14. Um I have lived in Brooklyn for

1:56:34 eight years now. I'm the mother of three

1:56:37 children. Uh my oldest is a graduate of

1:56:40 Brooklyn High and is here tonight. Um

1:56:43 while she was there, she happened to be

1:56:46 uh the managing editor for DEI for the

1:56:48 Cyprus. So we had a lot of uh great

1:56:51 conversations about that. Um my

1:56:54 professional background is that I

1:56:56 studied and practiced law employment law

1:56:59 for a number of years. Uh following that

1:57:02 I moved into law school administration.

1:57:04 I was the director of uh private sector

1:57:07 employment and judicial clerkships for

1:57:09 the law school pace law and then I moved

1:57:12 into general career counseling for

1:57:13 students. Since I arrived in Brooklyn, I

1:57:17 have been a very active community

1:57:19 volunteer and that brings me to one of

1:57:22 the reasons why I'd like to be on the

1:57:25 commission for DEI and community

1:57:28 relations. Um, I have a lot of

1:57:31 experience in this town bringing people

1:57:33 together with different organizations.

1:57:35 Uh, I currently serve on the Brookline

1:57:38 Center for Community Mental Health where

1:57:40 I'm the strategic um development

1:57:43 committee chair. So, we do a lot of the

1:57:45 fundraising that provides uh money for

1:57:48 easily accessible um and very needed

1:57:52 mental health support in this town. Um

1:57:54 before that, I was on the Brooklyn High

1:57:56 School Innovation Fund board. Uh I was

1:57:59 there for five years and two of them I

1:58:01 was the vice chair, one of them I was in

1:58:03 charge of nominating and engagement. Um,

1:58:06 and prior to that, I have done I have

1:58:10 done everything from I've been on the

1:58:12 BHS school council for two years. I was

1:58:15 on the 2023 PSB community planning team

1:58:19 and I was the co-president um and

1:58:22 secretary of the Hayes, which back then

1:58:24 was the Heath school's PTO. While I was

1:58:27 there, I was part of a founding part of

1:58:30 a group of parents, teachers, and

1:58:32 administrators who formed an equity

1:58:35 community group there called One Heath.

1:58:37 Um, and we did uh kind of an interesting

1:58:40 discussion on equity through reading a

1:58:42 book there. Um, and ultimately the

1:58:46 reason I'm here before you all today is

1:58:48 because I think we're at an inflection

1:58:52 point in this country and our town with

1:58:55 respect to the work of DEI and community

1:58:59 relations. And this town has been

1:59:02 committed to that work in some form or

1:59:04 fashion since 1970.

1:59:07 Um, there are plenty of people in the

1:59:09 country and in the town who don't see

1:59:11 the work's value anymore. And that work

1:59:14 is work that I have been doing for my

1:59:16 entire adult life. Um, it's as things as

1:59:21 simple as counseling HR uh managers on

1:59:24 how to promote a positive work

1:59:27 environment, civility trainings, things

1:59:29 that prevent actual discrimination from

1:59:32 occurring are are basic tools that I

1:59:34 could help. I think with um in the town

1:59:38 and moreover the work of this commission

1:59:41 is is really twofold. It's it's

1:59:44 fostering a sense of welcoming and

1:59:46 belonging among everyone in Brooklyn and

1:59:49 everyone who touches Brooklyn, but it's

1:59:52 also um really and truly about uplifting

1:59:55 human and civil rights. And that's

1:59:58 really needed now more than ever.

2:00:02 Thank you. So, uh, I'd like to, um,

2:00:07 start off by, uh, discussing your

2:00:10 application. You linked listening with

2:00:12 hearing. Yes.

2:00:14 Which is an interesting link, implying

2:00:16 that passive listening is not

2:00:17 sufficient.

2:00:19 Uh, talk a little more about that in the

2:00:21 context of what you called in your

2:00:23 application siloing.

2:00:25 Yeah, I I would say that

2:00:29 one of my observations is that

2:00:33 particularly for people who are coming

2:00:36 to uh local government meetings is that

2:00:39 a lot of times we come with a

2:00:40 perspective and an opinion of what is

2:00:44 right to begin with. and we're here to

2:00:47 express the opinion but not necessarily

2:00:49 listen to the other people in the room

2:00:52 and come to some sort of understanding

2:00:55 with each other. So I think it's

2:00:57 important to listen in a way where you

2:01:01 put yourself in the other person or the

2:01:03 other group or the other party's shoes

2:01:05 and I think we need people who continue

2:01:08 to encourage us to do that.

2:01:12 I think we're a very diverse community.

2:01:14 I think that's one of the reasons that

2:01:15 my husband and I when we moved here, we

2:01:17 moved here from Houston, Texas, which is

2:01:19 an extremely diverse major metropolitan

2:01:21 city, and we wanted to live in a place

2:01:24 that had a lot of diversity. Brooklyn

2:01:27 really fit that bill. And one of the

2:01:30 reasons I've gotten involved in so many

2:01:32 different community organizations within

2:01:34 it is because it's been an opportunity

2:01:36 to develop relationships with people of

2:01:38 all different backgrounds.

2:01:39 Unfortunately, I think the world that we

2:01:41 live in right now can feel very scary

2:01:44 and very fraught and people have sort of

2:01:47 siloed themselves more, which I don't

2:01:49 blame anyone for, or kind of put their

2:01:51 heads down in the sand. And I think we

2:01:54 need to sort of

2:01:56 step out of those siloed or comfort

2:01:58 zones um and and really try and

2:02:01 understand each other better.

2:02:04 One one other question before other

2:02:06 select board members ask uh their

2:02:09 questions is you what initiatives would

2:02:11 you uh want to see the uh uh diversity

2:02:15 commission take up that they're not

2:02:17 taking up now? Well, I think the

2:02:20 diversity commission is is doing really

2:02:22 important work in the town right now

2:02:25 that needs new members who are actually

2:02:29 going to come in and dedicate more time

2:02:31 and energy and bandwidth to them. So,

2:02:34 for instance, uh my understanding is

2:02:36 that there are three committees right

2:02:38 now that are subcommittees of the

2:02:40 commission. One is one a very active one

2:02:44 which you for reasons you referenced

2:02:47 earlier about current events is very

2:02:49 important. The immigrant advancement

2:02:51 committee. Um we are very fortunate in

2:02:54 Brooklyn to have the leader of that

2:02:56 committee be an immigration lawyer who

2:02:58 has held clinics uh free legal clinics

2:03:01 for people on their rights. Um and u

2:03:04 hopes to do bystander clinics. That's

2:03:06 work that I would like to be helpful

2:03:08 with. There is work there's another

2:03:11 subcommittee that is the employment

2:03:13 subcommittee as I understand it and the

2:03:16 office of diversity equity and inclusion

2:03:19 led by and community relations led by

2:03:20 Lloyd Gelano has really wanted the

2:03:23 commission to partner with them and

2:03:26 their work a bit more. Again, this is my

2:03:28 understanding and that's something that

2:03:30 I would be I think really well suited

2:03:32 for. It's what it's it's a committee

2:03:34 that

2:03:36 um as you may as I'm sure you all know

2:03:39 there have been disparity reports in

2:03:41 Brooklyn about different groups access

2:03:44 to services and programs in the town and

2:03:48 also um there was a 2020 for report by

2:03:52 the office that noted that unfortunately

2:03:56 there has been less representation

2:03:58 um in town c committees and town

2:04:01 government by bipac people from 2020

2:04:06 since 2022 was the last sort of survey

2:04:08 that was conducted to 2024. So you know

2:04:13 there are things that you can do in

2:04:15 terms of analyzing the data and suggest

2:04:18 seeing why what are the reasons for this

2:04:20 how do we retain you know high-erforming

2:04:24 uh bipok professionals and um what's

2:04:28 going on in that whole area and so then

2:04:30 the third um subcommittee is

2:04:32 observations and committees um no

2:04:35 observations and celebrations that's a

2:04:38 subcommittee where I think that whole

2:04:40 concept of celebr celebrating

2:04:42 difference, everyone coming together um

2:04:46 and sharing information, their

2:04:48 facilitation of sharing information in

2:04:50 terms of how different groups are doing

2:04:52 things like that all needs to be

2:04:55 coordinated and supported. So in terms

2:04:57 of the existing subcommittees, I think I

2:04:59 could help there. The other piece I'd

2:05:01 really like to work on, if it's

2:05:03 something that people feel comfortable

2:05:05 with, is sort of eventually

2:05:09 understanding circles or some sort of

2:05:12 discussion circles where for instance um

2:05:16 I've watched a a prior interview and I

2:05:19 know John has brought up like the

2:05:20 contentiousness on Facebook. I would

2:05:24 really like to see first of all I would

2:05:26 like if it was at all possible for there

2:05:29 to be I know we say that there are rules

2:05:32 in Brooklyn townwide discussion like no

2:05:35 personal attacks and things of that

2:05:37 nature but I would love to see if it was

2:05:40 possible to have a three strikes sort of

2:05:43 situation of once you've done three sort

2:05:46 of personal attacks you need to take a

2:05:47 breather for a few months and I know

2:05:50 that takes a little bit of analysis and

2:05:52 what have you But we need to bring back

2:05:55 some civility and uh sort of

2:06:00 collegiality

2:06:02 um in our interactions I feel in the

2:06:05 town. And I feel also that I know um I

2:06:08 know the leaders of the Brooklyn Food

2:06:11 Pantry, Steps for Success, a variety of

2:06:13 different organizations that maybe we

2:06:16 could we could bring people together,

2:06:18 have discussions where we say these are

2:06:21 these are the guidelines, these are the

2:06:22 ground rules, there will be no

2:06:24 recording. um when people have

2:06:26 difficulties. The reasons I reason I

2:06:28 reference townwide discussion is when

2:06:31 there is a really heated topic

2:06:33 eventually if there could be a break

2:06:35 from that and a request that we kind of

2:06:38 come together that those parties all

2:06:39 kind of come together and let's talk it

2:06:42 out. We and we make it clear that we're

2:06:44 not going to record. We're not, you

2:06:46 know, here to do anything other than try

2:06:49 to understand each other's perspectives

2:06:51 more.

2:06:52 Thank you,

2:06:54 John.

2:06:55 Um uh thank you so much for applying for

2:06:58 the commission and you know I I I don't

2:07:01 even feel like full disclosure is the

2:07:03 right phrase to use because um I've had

2:07:06 nothing but good experience with Mazu

2:07:08 through our common experience on the

2:07:10 board of the Brooklyn Center for

2:07:13 Community Mental Health and um uh I I've

2:07:18 been on the board perhaps maybe a few

2:07:20 years maybe even a decade or two longer.

2:07:22 Uh but that's just because I got started

2:07:24 so much earlier. One of the changes that

2:07:27 took place um with that um really

2:07:30 wonderful contributing um institution in

2:07:33 Brooklyn is that they went from calling

2:07:35 themselves the Brooklyn Community Mental

2:07:37 Health Center to the calling themselves

2:07:39 the Brooklyn Center for Community Mental

2:07:42 Health. And I always thought that that

2:07:43 concept of community mental health is an

2:07:47 important one. And so with your

2:07:49 experience and your background um h how

2:07:52 do you see um uh DEI and also the role

2:07:56 of the CDEICR

2:07:59 um as um how how can they be

2:08:01 contributors to community mental health?

2:08:05 Oh wow, that's a very interesting

2:08:07 question. Um

2:08:10 the center itself, the Brooklyn Center

2:08:13 for Community Mental Health provides a

2:08:15 lot of social services. It doesn't. It

2:08:17 works with the Brooklyn Housing

2:08:19 Authority and a variety of other places

2:08:22 to provide services in need in addition

2:08:25 to mental health supports. Um I think

2:08:29 John that's something we'd have to kind

2:08:31 of get granular about if that makes any

2:08:34 sense. Like there's there's data out

2:08:37 there. For instance, um in in one of the

2:08:42 office of of DEI's reports, they

2:08:44 mentioned that, you know, 12% or so of

2:08:48 people live below the poverty line in

2:08:50 Brooklyn. And of that percentage, 50%

2:08:55 are are are bipac people. And so when

2:08:59 you start to analyze um how are

2:09:02 different groups impacted in different

2:09:04 situations, how can we all at the

2:09:07 Brookline Center, one thing that we've

2:09:09 all been very clear about is that we are

2:09:11 a compassionate, caring community. And

2:09:14 it doesn't matter who needs the service,

2:09:17 we are here to provide that access to

2:09:20 that service as much as we and to as

2:09:22 many people as we possibly can. And and

2:09:26 so I I will say that I think in certain

2:09:29 circumstances people of certain first of

2:09:31 all I think mental health right now is

2:09:33 an issue that that universally and is

2:09:35 one of the reasons I've gotten involved

2:09:37 impacts everyone younger people older

2:09:40 people of different ethnic and cultural

2:09:42 backgrounds what have you. But I think

2:09:44 it's one of those areas that um there

2:09:48 you could do even segmented work with

2:09:52 different populations around different

2:09:54 things. Who knows?

2:09:56 Thanks.

2:09:57 Yeah,

2:09:59 Michael,

2:10:00 thank you and thank you very much for uh

2:10:02 your application and uh for sharing your

2:10:05 experiences and thoughts with us. Um I

2:10:08 have two questions. Um the first um is

2:10:13 how do you incorporate a person's intent

2:10:16 and a person's impact when judging their

2:10:19 words and actions?

2:10:23 Okay. So, so the first thing I mean I'm

2:10:25 going to sound very I mean Bohemian

2:10:28 peace, love and everything else here. I

2:10:30 have a sense, but I I I really think not

2:10:34 to sidestep your question, which I will

2:10:35 get to, but we need to we are living in

2:10:38 probably one of the most stressful,

2:10:40 fraught times

2:10:42 in modern American history. And I think

2:10:45 we first of all need to step away a bit

2:10:48 from the judgment and work more a little

2:10:53 bit at providing grace for people.

2:10:56 Um that would be my first comment. I

2:10:59 mean, judges sit in judgment and a jury

2:11:01 sits in judgment, but for us as private

2:11:05 citizens to be doing that to each other

2:11:07 all the time and inferring intent,

2:11:11 I'm not so comfortable with that where

2:11:13 we've gotten with that as a town. And

2:11:15 [clears throat] I do think both intent

2:11:19 and actual impact are very important.

2:11:23 Like you know when you're a first year

2:11:25 or second year law student like you know

2:11:27 that a crime is more serious if there's

2:11:30 specific intent to commit it as opposed

2:11:32 to you know you could it should

2:11:35 something could be involuntary. So the

2:11:36 intent matters, but the impact as we

2:11:39 know with the eggshell plaintiff, you

2:11:42 take the plaintiff as you get them. Um,

2:11:44 with all their flaws and if a normal

2:11:47 person wouldn't have been as hurt by an

2:11:49 action, but this particular plaintiff

2:11:51 is, you have to take that into

2:11:53 consideration, too. So I think both

2:11:56 intent and impact matter.

2:11:59 I but I I think most importantly we

2:12:02 really need to think about the scenarios

2:12:04 in which we're judging people and do we

2:12:08 need to be judging people for that?

2:12:10 Thank you. Um the second question is um

2:12:14 last November town meeting passed

2:12:17 warrant article 15 um to recognize and

2:12:20 celebrate every month of June uh as

2:12:23 LGBTQIA

2:12:25 plus pride month and acknowledge um

2:12:27 several uh days and months um in the

2:12:31 calendar. Transgender day of visibility

2:12:33 on March 31st. uh International Day

2:12:36 Against Homophobia, Bifobia, and

2:12:38 Transphobia on May 17th. Uh June 28th as

2:12:42 the Stonewall riots anniversary. Uh

2:12:45 every October 11th as National Coming

2:12:47 Out Day. Uh every month of October as

2:12:50 LGBTQIA plus History Month. And every

2:12:53 November is Transgender Day of

2:12:55 Remembrance. So, as a commissioner, how

2:12:58 would you incorporate or propose that we

2:13:02 best um follow that and recognize and

2:13:05 celebrate all of those events?

2:13:08 Well, the first thing I would do a as

2:13:11 with anything is to go to the

2:13:13 petitioners

2:13:15 um who were behind the warrant article

2:13:18 um and ask them what is their hope? What

2:13:21 do they envision? Um, in with this

2:13:23 particular Warren article, I know one of

2:13:26 the commissioners was Kevin McKenzie.

2:13:28 So, I would definitely contact him and

2:13:31 say, "What have we done in the past?"

2:13:33 And I believe what's happening right now

2:13:35 for the in recognition are that like

2:13:38 there are schools, three schools do

2:13:40 crosswalks, do painted crosswalks, and

2:13:43 there is a pride parade. Um, is that do

2:13:48 they want to build upon that? Were they

2:13:49 looking for something different? How can

2:13:51 we help facilitate that?

2:13:55 That's kind of my answer.

2:13:56 Thank you very much.

2:13:57 Yeah,

2:13:59 David,

2:14:00 in your introductory remarks, you ran

2:14:04 through each of the subcommittees. I'm

2:14:06 curious uh which not that you're

2:14:09 assigning yourself a subcommittee

2:14:10 [clears throat] already but uh if

2:14:12 there's uh a particular initiative or

2:14:15 certain work that most excites you on

2:14:18 CDEICR and what that would be.

2:14:22 You know the one of the reasons I did

2:14:24 apply was because all three of those

2:14:26 areas are ones that I'm really

2:14:27 passionate about. Um, I have less

2:14:30 expertise, I would say, in the immigrant

2:14:33 advancement committee, but I'm very

2:14:35 concerned about that population. So, I

2:14:37 would be happy to be helpful, but I

2:14:41 think I could probably have more impact

2:14:43 in the two remaining um subcategory

2:14:47 subcommittees, which were the employment

2:14:49 subcommittee and the celebrations and

2:14:53 observations committee.

2:14:55 So, I would I would be happy to, you

2:14:59 know, if if if I if selected to help

2:15:02 lead the employment subcommittee to work

2:15:06 on it as anybody needed and to, you

2:15:08 know, what I I want to basically do sort

2:15:11 of a self audit of what's happening and

2:15:14 where I'm needed most in and all of

2:15:17 those areas are areas I'm really excited

2:15:19 about. The third area that celebrations

2:15:21 and observations is really special to

2:15:23 Brooklyn and I think making it easier

2:15:25 for people to be able to celebrate um

2:15:31 things that are important to them. Let's

2:15:33 share the information and and and get

2:15:35 that rolling.

2:15:40 Great. Thank you. So, uh we will be

2:15:43 selecting um among the applicants at a

2:15:47 later meeting. Uh we have four openings

2:15:49 on the the commission um and a lot of

2:15:53 applicants. So it'll be a while before

2:15:56 we uh make a decision.

2:15:58 Okay.

2:15:58 Thank you for your your application and

2:16:00 thank you for a very interesting

2:16:01 discussion of uh your thoughts on the

2:16:04 commission.

2:16:05 All right. Thank you all. Have a good

2:16:06 night.

2:16:07 Thanks Mason.

2:16:10 [clears throat]

2:16:11 Next item is um actually license

2:16:14 renewals. Right.

2:16:15 Right. the agenda changed a little bit.

2:16:18 So,

2:16:19 you want to sort of introduce

2:16:21 We can we we can tee it up. Um I want to

2:16:23 thank you all um for your uh patience as

2:16:26 we've uh worked through the uh license

2:16:29 renewal process here. Um as you know

2:16:32 from when we talked about this in

2:16:33 December, this is the first year that we

2:16:35 have done this process entirely

2:16:37 electronically. Previously, we have done

2:16:39 this in hybrid fashion. We've allowed

2:16:41 folks to submit paper applications and

2:16:43 we've allowed folks to submit

2:16:44 electronically. This year we really made

2:16:46 a concerted effort starting um with

2:16:49 Melany's predecessor Tiffany Oliva and

2:16:51 then continuing on uh and Michelle

2:16:53 Morrison, our licensing specialist um

2:16:55 who is online um and continuing now with

2:16:57 Melanie, who you can see has put her

2:16:59 inaugural memo into your packet. Thank

2:17:00 you, Melanie. Um to talk a little bit

2:17:03 about um where we stand in terms of town

2:17:06 licenses and uh where we go from here.

2:17:08 Um the I wouldn't say it's bad news, but

2:17:12 the the news that's a little different

2:17:13 than other years is that it's taking a

2:17:15 little longer to complete license

2:17:16 applications this year. That is because

2:17:18 there are two reasons. One is that

2:17:20 applicants are unfamiliar with the

2:17:22 system and it's taking them a little

2:17:23 longer to get used to it. Um the second

2:17:26 is that in some cases departments are a

2:17:28 little unfamiliar with the system and

2:17:29 it's taking us a little time to get

2:17:30 through things. Um so there are

2:17:33 definitely issues on both sides of the

2:17:35 equation here. Um I will say that it is

2:17:38 at this point the departmental issues

2:17:40 are largely sorted out. Not all of them

2:17:41 but some of them. Um and then the third

2:17:45 um thing is that because this is all

2:17:47 electronic and the process is the

2:17:50 oversight is now better we are

2:17:51 encountering issues that we previously

2:17:53 did not encounter or we did not flag

2:17:55 because of the you know more analog

2:17:57 process that we went through. For

2:17:59 example, we've see that there are a

2:18:01 couple of issues with um lodging houses

2:18:04 um that in in the past we may not we we

2:18:08 just may not have seen because we would

2:18:09 accept the packet and and move forward

2:18:11 on that. And that just means it's going

2:18:12 to take a little longer for those places

2:18:14 to come into compliance um because in

2:18:18 past years, for example, we've just

2:18:19 we've we either haven't noticed that

2:18:21 they were out of compliance or um you

2:18:24 know there there was no submission on

2:18:25 that front. And so we are working with

2:18:27 all of those applicants to get through

2:18:29 that process. Now, um there are three

2:18:32 kind of categories in your packet of

2:18:34 license to deal with. Category one is

2:18:36 the easiest one. The ones that were not

2:18:38 done when you looked at this in December

2:18:40 who are done now. Um after the public

2:18:43 hearing, you could take an omnimous vote

2:18:45 to approve those licenses for the rest

2:18:46 of this calendar year through December

2:18:48 31st. The second group are folks who are

2:18:52 not where they need to be with their

2:18:54 licenses and need a little more time.

2:18:56 Um, and what we would recommend you do

2:18:59 there is extend their licenses again

2:19:01 through the middle of February. Um, we

2:19:04 will work with them to try and get the

2:19:06 paperwork that we need or the

2:19:08 inspections they need taken care of. Um

2:19:11 and for those bodies that uh and ideally

2:19:16 uh if there are issues that arise, we

2:19:18 can then bring them to the licensing

2:19:19 panel hearing in midFebruary. We can

2:19:22 kind of troubleshoot those issues and if

2:19:24 there are things that need to be

2:19:25 escalated to the board, you know,

2:19:27 intractable problems, we can then do

2:19:28 that at your next meeting at the end of

2:19:30 February. The third category, the

2:19:32 smallest category is ones where there

2:19:34 are issues that where there's

2:19:35 non-compliance.

2:19:36 um either they have not submitted

2:19:38 applications or they've failed

2:19:40 inspections or there are things that

2:19:42 need to be that need to be done on their

2:19:44 end that are not being done. Um and what

2:19:46 we would recommend there is that this

2:19:48 it's reallyformational on your end. We

2:19:50 will issue what we typically issue in

2:19:51 those circumstances which is a letter of

2:19:53 violation. We will tell them we think

2:19:55 you're out of compliance with the

2:19:56 requirements of your of the licensing

2:19:58 scheme in the town. Your hearing is set

2:20:01 for the licensing panel hearing date.

2:20:03 And our goal there is to kind of push

2:20:05 them a little harder to get into

2:20:06 compliance with these requirements or to

2:20:08 tell us, for example, oh, you know, we

2:20:10 closed or um we don't we don't want to

2:20:12 do this anymore or oh, we're sorry, we

2:20:14 missed, you know, we missed this and

2:20:15 we'll get through it. And then again,

2:20:17 the folks who we can't troubleshoot for,

2:20:19 we will bring them in for a hearing at

2:20:21 the licensing panel, we will hold begin

2:20:23 holding that hearing. And if it's

2:20:24 something that needs to be escalated to

2:20:26 you for discipline, for example, if the

2:20:28 license needs to be not renewed uh for

2:20:30 whatever reason, then it will come

2:20:32 before you. Um so ultimately you will be

2:20:35 the decision makers here in terms of if

2:20:37 there are um entities that are out of

2:20:40 compliance um that can't get back into

2:20:42 compliance for whatever reason. Um that

2:20:44 will come before you at the end of

2:20:46 February. Um so those that's our

2:20:48 recommendation to you on this front. Um

2:20:50 but again I want to thank all the

2:20:52 departmental teams and the businesses

2:20:55 for working through this first year of

2:20:57 all electronic processes. Um it's been a

2:21:00 learning experience. Um we've taken a

2:21:03 lot of the feedback to heart. Um and

2:21:05 we're working on making this easier. Um

2:21:08 and again the end goal of this is to

2:21:10 make it easier and make it cleaner and

2:21:11 to make sure that you know for in the

2:21:14 case of some of these things where in

2:21:15 the hybrid regime we weren't seeing some

2:21:17 of the um the issues that now we have

2:21:19 full transparency and full clarity onto

2:21:22 some of these uh matters and are able to

2:21:24 follow up with them. So um that's where

2:21:26 we are on this front. Um and welcome any

2:21:29 questions or concerns on your end.

2:21:30 Yeah. Before we start the hearing, any

2:21:32 questions from the SL board?

2:21:37 Okay. So, let's open up the public

2:21:39 hearing

2:21:40 and after that we'll go through each one

2:21:42 of the categories and and vote.

2:21:44 Okay. Now that the chair has opened the

2:21:45 public hearing, if there's anyone that

2:21:47 wishes to speak on the license renewals

2:21:50 for 2026, please raise your hand using

2:21:52 the raise your hand feature online or

2:21:54 make your presence known in the room.

2:22:00 There's nobody online raising their

2:22:01 hand. Nobody in the room. No one's

2:22:04 indicating their desire to speak.

2:22:08 Okay. Uh let's move on to uh the the

2:22:11 three categories. Two of which require a

2:22:13 vote. I assume we're not going to vote

2:22:15 on the ones that are out of compliance.

2:22:17 No, we the there we'll we'll issue the

2:22:19 violation letters and you'll take a

2:22:20 final determination there in February.

2:22:23 Okay. So,

2:22:24 excuse me. Was there a distributed list

2:22:26 of

2:22:27 Yes. Sorry. It's it's in your packet and

2:22:29 it's gotten it's been updated over the

2:22:31 again as with last time. were literally

2:22:33 getting applications in.

2:22:35 It may have been a table.

2:22:37 Well, I'm not sure it was. I mean, if

2:22:39 you ought to see all of them listed in

2:22:41 the

2:22:42 Oh. Oh, I thought it's not in the the

2:22:45 one drive packet.

2:22:46 Yeah. Sorry. It's it's in it's in the

2:22:48 online packet

2:22:49 because [clears throat] we we we've been

2:22:50 updating it over the course of the day.

2:22:52 Michael, I have a printed out copy if

2:22:53 you want.

2:22:54 Yes, please.

2:22:56 Thank you.

2:23:03 Okay, let's start off with the licenses

2:23:05 that are fully compliant. Um, I don't

2:23:08 think we need to go through them except

2:23:10 very briefly. Secondhand motor licenses.

2:23:13 Uh, five, nine secondhand articles and

2:23:16 antiques license. Um, four inholder uh

2:23:21 licenses. 30 lodging house licenses.

2:23:26 um 85 alcohol uh licenses.

2:23:31 Let's see.

2:23:37 85

2:23:39 and 34 common victual entertainment and

2:23:43 outdoor dining licenses. Uh any

2:23:46 questions regarding any of those?

2:23:52 Okay. Uh I move approval of the uh first

2:23:56 category of licenses licenses that are

2:23:59 substantially compliant uh with their uh

2:24:03 requirements. All in favor please

2:24:05 indicate by saying I. John Vancoyak

2:24:07 I.

2:24:07 Uh David Pearlman

2:24:09 I Rubenstein

2:24:10 I.

2:24:10 Chair votes I. Uh next we have the uh

2:24:15 uh licenses that are substantially in

2:24:18 compliance uh but still have a few

2:24:21 things uh to uh fix. So I move that we

2:24:25 conditionally approve uh these licenses

2:24:28 and that's one alcohol license, 34

2:24:32 common victual entertainment and outdoor

2:24:35 dining licenses, two food vendor

2:24:38 licenses, uh and three lodging houses.

2:24:42 Uh any questions or discussion of those?

2:24:44 I had a question.

2:24:45 Yeah, John.

2:24:46 Uh you said there is one alcohol license

2:24:49 category.

2:24:50 Yep. The uh the I'm sorry, Bernard, your

2:24:51 your list is from earlier this

2:24:53 afternoon. That last we we we managed to

2:24:55 resolve that. So there are zero um

2:24:57 zero. Yeah.

2:24:58 Okay. So So um they should have been

2:25:00 voted on the in in previous votes.

2:25:02 Yes, we'll move them into I'm sorry. Can

2:25:04 I take

2:25:05 a zero category?

2:25:07 Two. I don't know what that is. It

2:25:09 doesn't say it doesn't say what the

2:25:10 establishment was. Just says

2:25:12 Yeah. No. So zero pure category two. So

2:25:14 you're you're that's you have the most

2:25:16 recent version. I think you just said

2:25:18 one because you said okay.

2:25:19 It is it is zero. Okay.

2:25:21 Okay. Sorry.

2:25:22 That's okay.

2:25:23 Um Okay. Any other

2:25:26 I'm

2:25:26 I'm just I'm just curious like for for

2:25:29 the for the food vendors

2:25:32 um what kinds of

2:25:34 some of some of this is very simple like

2:25:36 they need to submit a workers comp

2:25:37 certificate. Um and in the past that was

2:25:39 something that you know we just brought

2:25:41 a piece of paper in and so forth and

2:25:42 they didn't submit it online but for

2:25:44 others it is like for example maybe you

2:25:47 know there there maybe there was a mixup

2:25:48 at at the departmental level and they're

2:25:49 still waiting approval from like fire or

2:25:51 something. Um okay it's not their fault

2:25:53 and so for those guys we for those those

2:25:56 businesses we will work with them make

2:25:58 sure that they're all in everything is

2:26:00 taken care of by February. I guess um it

2:26:04 would be interesting and helpful to know

2:26:06 if there are any health issues um

2:26:09 involved here.

2:26:11 So I'm not sure that we need to go

2:26:13 through each one of them, but just a

2:26:15 general sense of whether that's an issue

2:26:16 with with some of these.

2:26:18 And so the good news is in this this

2:26:19 category, no. Um in this category two,

2:26:21 no. There's nothing there there are no

2:26:23 non-compliant

2:26:25 businesses. It's just that they're

2:26:26 awaiting final approval. Okay. Um then

2:26:29 category three, yes, there are one or

2:26:31 two where health has said you've got to

2:26:33 fix this problem. Um and so there we're

2:26:36 issuing violation letters.

2:26:39 Okay. Um then I move approval um

2:26:42 conditionally of the substantially

2:26:45 compliant licences with outstanding

2:26:47 items uh to be taken up again once they

2:26:51 have uh resolved the issues that they

2:26:54 face uh in mid se in midFebruary

2:26:57 probably.

2:26:58 Yep. Through February 25th is what we

2:26:59 would ask.

2:27:01 Okay. So all in favor please indicate by

2:27:03 saying I. John Vancoy

2:27:04 I.

2:27:05 And David Pearlman

2:27:06 I.

2:27:06 Michael Rubenstein

2:27:07 I. Jer votes I. Okay. And finally,

2:27:11 non-compliant licenses, which we don't

2:27:13 have to do anything about. Just wait for

2:27:15 them to either uh shape up or we'll ship

2:27:19 them out.

2:27:21 Thank you.

2:27:22 Okay. So, next I I do just have a

2:27:25 question. Uh in terms of these numbers

2:27:27 by category, how does it compare to

2:27:30 prior cycles? Is it pretty stable

2:27:33 um in terms of businesses closing and

2:27:35 opening and so forth? Right. We're

2:27:36 seeing this is a little bit higher in

2:27:38 terms of closures than last year. Um I

2:27:40 think that's the re economic reality on

2:27:42 the ground. Um it's not I wouldn't it's

2:27:46 it's not cause for alarm. You know it's

2:27:47 not we're not seeing a you know a

2:27:50 significant uptick but it is an uptick.

2:27:52 Um we are seeing more closure more we

2:27:54 see more closures but we're also seeing

2:27:57 applicants come in. We're seeing new

2:27:58 businesses want to come into Brookline.

2:28:00 So that's a positive as well. So, we're

2:28:02 hopeful that, you know, although we're

2:28:04 we're it's tough to lose some of these

2:28:06 businesses, some of which have been with

2:28:08 us for a long time, um that we're

2:28:10 hopefully going to continue to keep our,

2:28:12 you know, vibrant commercial districts,

2:28:14 you know, the cores going there.

2:28:15 All right. Thank you. Great.

2:28:18 Okay. Um, next item is, uh, be well. Uh,

2:28:23 Dr. Klinski is going to present, uh,

2:28:28 this item to us.

2:28:36 Just going to share the screen.

2:28:50 I'm happy to riff while we we deal with

2:28:51 the technology here for just a second.

2:28:53 So, thank you all for having me tonight.

2:28:55 Um I'm here to present uh and share our

2:28:57 plan for installing two be well health

2:28:59 stations as part of project can connect

2:29:01 and I want to recognize at the outset.

2:29:03 There's a lot of terminology both in the

2:29:05 memo and the presentation. So I

2:29:06 apologize for that. We love our names in

2:29:08 public health. Uh so be well is our

2:29:10 coalition our wellness and substance use

2:29:13 prevention coalition. And project can is

2:29:15 a project that has been ongoing for the

2:29:17 past couple of years. That's citizens

2:29:19 accessing uh Nlloxxone. So we've been

2:29:21 distributing the lock zone throughout

2:29:23 the community so that residents are

2:29:24 prepared to respond. We've been doing

2:29:26 trainings over the past two and a half

2:29:28 years. We've distributed over I want to

2:29:31 say about a thousand uh doses of Narcan

2:29:34 to community members and we've done

2:29:35 trainings for over I think at this point

2:29:37 four or 500 residents and that

2:29:39 continues. Uh so this is a continuation

2:29:40 of that project. So thank you all for

2:29:42 having me tonight.

2:29:50 uh if you hit the slideshow. Oh, there

2:29:52 you go.

2:29:52 Okay, good. Um so what is project can

2:29:56 connect? So like I said, this is an

2:29:58 extension of our existing program and

2:29:59 what we're hoping to do here is uh

2:30:02 provide this life-saving medicine and

2:30:04 other health resources and making them

2:30:06 available 247 through public health

2:30:07 vending machines. The goal here is to

2:30:10 reduce barriers, provide free and

2:30:11 stigma-free resources, and promote

2:30:13 health equity. This pilot project is

2:30:16 funded uh both by a $25,000 RISE

2:30:18 municipal matching grant and RISE is the

2:30:21 program that is managing the opioid

2:30:24 abatement funds and programming for the

2:30:26 state and $25,000 from Brookline's

2:30:29 opioid abatement funds.

2:30:34 So, why do we need this in Brooklyn? Um

2:30:37 these stations will provide, as I've

2:30:39 said, 247 access to critical health

2:30:41 resources. What we're hoping here is

2:30:43 that we'll be meeting people where they

2:30:44 are. Um, and I'll get a little bit more

2:30:46 into that in a in a further slide. This

2:30:49 is going to free up staff to focus on

2:30:50 education and outreach instead of supply

2:30:53 distribution. It aligns well with our

2:30:55 CHIP goals and addresses opioid overdose

2:30:58 prevention proactively. Uh, and

2:31:00 libraries are a trusted and accessible

2:31:02 space. They've been wonderful partners

2:31:03 for public health throughout the years

2:31:05 during the COVID pandemic. They're one

2:31:07 of our distribution partners.

2:31:09 um they're spa they're near uh they're

2:31:11 accessible and near housing and transit

2:31:13 and this makes them ideal locations for

2:31:15 us.

2:31:18 As far as items that we're planning to

2:31:19 introduce, uh some of these items we are

2:31:21 already sharing with the community, as I

2:31:23 said, nlloxxone, fentanyl test strips,

2:31:25 and xylazine test strips are products

2:31:28 that we share now through project can.

2:31:30 The deter drug disposal bags was a a

2:31:33 grant-f funded project that we

2:31:35 introduced. We don't have uh through

2:31:37 municipal properties, we do not have

2:31:39 drug disposal. So, this was an

2:31:41 opportunity for us to be able to provide

2:31:42 that to the community. What we do now is

2:31:44 send people to CVS locations in Brooklyn

2:31:46 and around uh around the region to to

2:31:49 dispose of drugs. So, this is a way for

2:31:51 them to do that without having to travel

2:31:52 too far. Uh we will be partnering or or

2:31:56 as part of this, we will also be hoping

2:31:58 to extend sharps containers. So, right

2:32:00 now there are sharps containers uh at

2:32:02 police and public health buildings and

2:32:05 we want to introduce these uh at the

2:32:08 vending machine locations as well if we

2:32:09 can. We do provide when we have access

2:32:12 to them antigen test kits. So the COVID

2:32:14 tests that that I mentioned earlier,

2:32:16 we've been distributing for years now.

2:32:17 We hope to introduce those in the

2:32:19 vending machines. Uh personal hygiene

2:32:21 products, uh sexual health products, uh

2:32:24 and then seasonal items for those who

2:32:25 are unhoused.

2:32:28 The company that we uh are uh proposing

2:32:32 contracting with is called Test and Go

2:32:34 and they call their products kiosks. Uh

2:32:37 these are are great platforms that are

2:32:40 focused uh around public health. They're

2:32:43 multilingual. They uh are prepared to

2:32:47 translate into 21 uh languages. They're

2:32:49 ADA compliant. They include assistive

2:32:51 devices for those who are visually

2:32:53 impaired. They're weatherproof. Um

2:32:56 privacy focused. So the uh kiosks, which

2:32:59 you can see in the bottom right of the

2:33:00 corner, there's no glass there. It's

2:33:02 it's a privacy screen. When a resident

2:33:06 or a community member comes up to the

2:33:07 kiosk, there's a uh a screen on the

2:33:11 right hand side there, a computer

2:33:12 screen. It's a touch screen. It shows

2:33:15 pictures of all the products. It

2:33:16 provides descriptions of all the

2:33:17 products and you can select it on the

2:33:19 screen and it'll drop down from the

2:33:20 vending machine.

2:33:22 Uh the system allows for customizable

2:33:24 data collection for the program so that

2:33:26 we can do some evaluation. We'll get a

2:33:28 better understanding of what products

2:33:30 are being used, which ones need to be

2:33:31 replenished uh more quickly or less

2:33:33 quickly. And then we have the option to

2:33:35 ask some survey questions. Those are

2:33:37 optional survey questions. So we can get

2:33:39 some demographics. We can ask some other

2:33:42 uh optional questions maybe about which

2:33:44 groups do they identify with? Are they

2:33:46 veterans? Are they seniors? Are they

2:33:47 youth? etc.

2:33:51 Now, one of the the key points to

2:33:53 tonight was was to have a discussion

2:33:55 about and get your feedback on the

2:33:56 locations that that we're proposing. So,

2:33:58 at this point, um, Darlene Johnson has

2:34:02 done a our community health manager has

2:34:03 done a tremendous amount of work, uh,

2:34:05 with department staff and with community

2:34:08 members trying to identify the key

2:34:09 locations for the pilot project. We're

2:34:12 proposing Kulage Corner and Brooklyn

2:34:14 Village public libraries. These are

2:34:16 accessible locations. They have high to

2:34:18 moderate foot traffic. Um, they're

2:34:21 recognized access points. Residents are

2:34:23 already and community members are using

2:34:25 these locations to get services. um as

2:34:28 Charlie Homer the chair of ACPH

2:34:30 mentioned earlier and they're located

2:34:32 close to areas where vulnerable

2:34:33 populations live.

2:34:37 Uh I also wanted to mention we have the

2:34:39 opportunity as part of this contract to

2:34:41 brand the kiosks. So we'll have complete

2:34:44 control over the what visually is

2:34:46 presented on the boxes themselves. So

2:34:48 it's a great opportunity for us as we

2:34:50 launch the Bwell Coalition to do some

2:34:52 branding and raise awareness about the

2:34:53 coalition's work. We'll have some

2:34:55 messaging on there and contact info for

2:34:58 our resource navigator that we hired

2:34:59 this past year as well as the resource

2:35:02 database that that we're beginning to

2:35:03 promote.

2:35:05 So, really quickly, just wanted to share

2:35:07 a little bit about what one community is

2:35:08 doing. There are four communities that

2:35:10 currently have kiosks. There's another

2:35:12 one that's going to be introducing them

2:35:14 shortly. So, Summerville was was really

2:35:16 a model here for us. They have one

2:35:18 vending machine at their West End

2:35:20 library and one at their food pantry. uh

2:35:24 like us they're piloting. Uh I did get a

2:35:26 chance today to talk to their prevention

2:35:28 manager just to see how it's going. So

2:35:29 they soft launched about two months ago

2:35:32 and what I heard today was they've it's

2:35:34 been very wellreceived. They did a lot

2:35:36 of leg work ahead of time to raise

2:35:38 awareness about the fact that they were

2:35:40 introducing these

2:35:42 and um so nothing but positive feedback

2:35:45 from the community so far in Brooklyn.

2:35:47 And one interesting data point uh that

2:35:49 they did share with me was these are 247

2:35:52 but are they you being utilized 247

2:35:54 because there's no point in implementing

2:35:55 them if we can't get people to use them

2:35:57 when staff aren't there. Uh and about

2:35:59 40% of the products are being uh

2:36:02 selected during off hours so far in in

2:36:05 Somerville.

2:36:08 And then I just wanted to to finish by

2:36:10 thanking those who have worked on this

2:36:12 project. Uh Darlene Johnson has been a

2:36:13 driving force. She's our community

2:36:15 health manager. Laya Mc George is our

2:36:16 prevention uh coalition coordinator. Cat

2:36:19 Truisy Bossy is our public health nurse.

2:36:21 Abby Dean runs our substance use

2:36:23 prevention program down at the high

2:36:24 school. And so with that, I'm happy to

2:36:27 to take questions.

2:36:29 Okay, I'd like uh let me start. Um so

2:36:34 this is a great program uh Dr. Kloinski.

2:36:38 Um but we're putting I think I may have

2:36:41 talked to you about this. We're putting

2:36:42 two vending machines uh for which we

2:36:45 have funding in North Brooklyn because

2:36:47 of foot traffic etc. The main library

2:36:50 and Koolage Corner pretty close to each

2:36:52 other about half a mile away. Um and I'm

2:36:55 concerned that we may be giving the

2:36:57 message that the issues these mach these

2:36:59 machines are designed to address are not

2:37:01 relevant to South Brooklyn. Um

2:37:04 and you know that that is something that

2:37:07 people of South Brooklyn are some

2:37:08 somewhat sensitive to. So I I think um

2:37:12 you know that's a relevant issue and

2:37:14 maybe uh thinking of placing one of the

2:37:16 machines at Putterham it would be more

2:37:20 of a balancing of our resources uh for

2:37:23 the um you know the people of of the

2:37:26 whole towns just your thoughts on that.

2:37:29 Yeah I appreciate you raising that. That

2:37:31 was certainly uh something that we we

2:37:33 didn't discuss particularly Putterham

2:37:34 Library but we did talk about the

2:37:36 regional distribution of for the pilot

2:37:38 project. I think ultimately um what

2:37:41 staff were considering was again the

2:37:43 foot traffic and being as close to where

2:37:46 as many of the vulnerable populations

2:37:47 are. This is a communitywide issue for

2:37:49 sure. Um but what we wanted to do with

2:37:52 the pilot and the limited resources we

2:37:53 have was really focus on where those

2:37:56 comm the the bulk of the community

2:37:57 members that we expect will use this

2:38:00 are. Um what I'm happy to do, we can

2:38:02 certainly reassess. I'm happy to bring

2:38:04 that that feedback back to our our staff

2:38:06 and and see what they have to say about

2:38:08 it. What we can also do and I should say

2:38:10 I should have said this at the outset,

2:38:12 what we're already doing is we're

2:38:13 already providing Nlloxxone to the

2:38:16 public free of charge in a lot of our

2:38:18 municipal buildings as well. So

2:38:19 Potterham Library is one of I think six

2:38:21 or seven locations. So all of our

2:38:24 libraries, the senior center, public

2:38:25 health building, town hall, and public

2:38:27 safety all have sandboxes where uh

2:38:31 residents can go and and get nlloxxone

2:38:33 if they're there for kind of in an

2:38:36 emergency, but they're also there free

2:38:37 of charge. So So that's one small piece

2:38:40 um is that that's already accessible in

2:38:42 South Brooklyn. But as it relates to the

2:38:44 rest of the items that would be in that

2:38:45 vending machine and and whether or not

2:38:47 we place a vending machine there, happy

2:38:49 to take another look at it. And if if we

2:38:51 decided to focus on North Brookline with

2:38:53 with the pilot, the other option is to

2:38:56 talk to the library staff and see if

2:38:58 they'd be willing to provide some of

2:38:59 these same materials through the

2:39:01 library. That wouldn't be 247. So that

2:39:04 would would be a gap, but I think that's

2:39:05 another opportunity as well. So,

2:39:07 by the way, the one of the things I was

2:39:09 thinking about is the uh what do you

2:39:12 call it? Uh the drug disposal function.

2:39:15 um you know that opioids are still

2:39:19 problem and that that's a problem all

2:39:22 over the country and and all over this

2:39:25 this town. um and you having a drug drop

2:39:30 off in particular seems to me something

2:39:32 that uh you know should be available to

2:39:35 South Brooklyn and maybe that can be

2:39:37 done maybe not 24 hours but you know

2:39:39 during um uh business hours at the

2:39:41 library but I'd so urge you to think

2:39:43 about that op that um you know that uh

2:39:47 service as something to uh provide for

2:39:51 South Brooklyn as well as the sharks

2:39:53 which which are also very very

2:39:55 important.

2:39:56 That's a great point. Um, and I will

2:39:58 say, uh, for the deter bags, residents

2:40:01 can right now come into the public

2:40:02 health building and we give them out.

2:40:04 Uh, and we do offer to mail them to

2:40:06 those who can't come to the building.

2:40:08 The terra bags where you put your drugs

2:40:09 in, and it's

2:40:12 incapacitates.

2:40:13 That's right. Yeah. So, so the bag has a

2:40:15 material in it, you dump the the

2:40:16 medicine in, you pour some water in, and

2:40:18 it and it creates kind of a a substance

2:40:20 that makes them inert, the the drugs

2:40:22 inert. David,

2:40:24 I just have a few of the uh operational

2:40:27 questions. So, it sounds like the

2:40:29 upfront costs are covered, but what

2:40:31 would be the longer term costs uh should

2:40:34 the town decide to make this permanent

2:40:36 rather than a pilot?

2:40:38 Yes. Um so, the the long-term or or the

2:40:40 annual costs will be in the neighborhood

2:40:42 of about $30,000, which is a little bit

2:40:45 more than what we're currently uh

2:40:47 providing from the matching from the the

2:40:50 local match to the grant. Um, I think

2:40:52 that's that's well within what we can

2:40:54 absorb from the opioid abatement funds.

2:40:56 Um,

2:40:58 having said that, it's a pilot. I want

2:41:00 to see how how it it works for the

2:41:02 community and how well they're being

2:41:03 used. I I wouldn't want to commit to

2:41:05 more than the year. We did look at

2:41:07 purchasing versus leasing. Purchasing is

2:41:09 a little bit more affordable. If the

2:41:11 pilot's successful, I think that's

2:41:12 something we can also look at. The

2:41:14 benefit of leasing is in addition to

2:41:16 staff not having to to check on them on

2:41:19 a regular basis and make sure that

2:41:20 they're fully stocked, the the company

2:41:23 is responsible for these units. So if

2:41:25 there's any damage, they'll come out and

2:41:27 fix anything that's wrong with them. Um

2:41:29 so that's why we went with lease to

2:41:31 start, but we are, you know, continuing

2:41:33 to assess and want to be as efficient

2:41:34 and as effective as we can be. So we

2:41:36 will definitely be keeping an eye on

2:41:38 that.

2:41:38 All right. relatedly and uh part of your

2:41:40 answer I think addresses this question.

2:41:43 What does success look like? How will it

2:41:45 be measured? What metrics are you using?

2:41:47 That's a great question. So to from a

2:41:50 process standpoint, we're going to be

2:41:51 looking at when are the items being

2:41:53 selected, what's being selected. Um

2:41:58 and then from a a more longitudinal kind

2:42:00 of outcome perspective, we are going to

2:42:02 be asking some questions on the screen.

2:42:04 We can't do a lot because we don't want

2:42:06 to create a barrier to use. Uh but we

2:42:09 will also be introducing we'll have

2:42:10 focus groups, we'll have studies that we

2:42:12 do. Um we have our Qualrix accounts so

2:42:14 we can do online surveys, community

2:42:16 surveys. Um and so we'll be working with

2:42:19 uh some of our chip working groups and

2:42:21 my regional epidemiologist to determine

2:42:23 what are the key metrics. So I don't

2:42:25 have a specific answer tonight. I'd love

2:42:27 to say that having these will have a

2:42:30 specific impact long term. I think it

2:42:33 remains to be seen because we're doing

2:42:34 so much work across a bunch of a number

2:42:37 of areas. the substance use prevention

2:42:39 work we're doing in the high school, the

2:42:40 fact that we're already introducing the

2:42:42 lock zone to the community through other

2:42:44 programs. It's going to be hard to drill

2:42:46 down the the public health impact, the

2:42:49 long-term impact, but we'll do our best

2:42:50 and and we'll be looking to community

2:42:52 members with expertise and data analysis

2:42:53 to help us figure that out.

2:42:55 All right. How quickly does inventory

2:42:57 get replenished?

2:42:59 What I've been told is regularly. I

2:43:01 don't I don't know exactly. They didn't

2:43:03 define regularly for us. the fact that

2:43:04 Boston, Somerville, Cambridge are all

2:43:07 already implementing these, my hope is

2:43:08 that they will be doing regular routes.

2:43:10 I'll get you a specific answer uh from

2:43:13 the company this week when I have a

2:43:14 chance to talk to them.

2:43:15 And then one last question. Uh I noticed

2:43:17 in one of the slides that wound care

2:43:20 units are seasonal. I'm just wondering

2:43:22 why it would be seasonal. Don't people

2:43:23 get injured year round?

2:43:24 They they do. I'll have to go back and

2:43:26 look at that one. I'm not sure uh

2:43:28 specifically why that was was grouped

2:43:30 there. It might have been an accident.

2:43:31 Um, but again, I think we will be

2:43:33 looking to the community for their

2:43:35 input. We'll be looking to those

2:43:36 vulnerable populations and saying, "What

2:43:38 do you need? When do you need it?" And

2:43:40 and we're going to try to be dynamic

2:43:41 about uh what we place in there and when

2:43:43 we place it in there. I think winter

2:43:45 hats and gloves makes sense in the

2:43:46 winter. Um, wound care could be a year

2:43:49 year long project or item that we we

2:43:52 include in there. It's a good catch.

2:43:55 Um, Michael,

2:43:56 um,

2:43:58 thank you very much. Um, I certainly

2:43:59 agree. This is a wonderful program and

2:44:01 worthy of our support. Um,

2:44:06 my understanding, and please correct me

2:44:08 if I'm wrong, is that we're already

2:44:10 supplying certain hygiene products

2:44:12 within public restrooms throughout the

2:44:15 town. So, some of those products

2:44:17 presumably are, for example, in the

2:44:19 Potterham Library

2:44:22 restroom facilities.

2:44:23 Yes.

2:44:23 Um Um, and that's that's been a

2:44:26 relatively recent change. Do you have

2:44:29 any sense of the impact of that change

2:44:33 on on uh sort of the provision of those

2:44:37 services? Is that something that's being

2:44:40 that has been taken up and that you

2:44:42 expect this to extend?

2:44:44 It's a great question. I don't have an

2:44:46 answer for you tonight on that. I I know

2:44:48 we are providing some of those materials

2:44:50 in public restrooms and municipal

2:44:52 buildings. I know they're they're in the

2:44:53 public health building. I saw them

2:44:55 tonight in town hall. Um I will look to

2:44:58 get you a better answer after tonight.

2:45:00 Um as far as assessing

2:45:02 right it would moving uh building on

2:45:06 David's question just in terms of

2:45:08 understanding if if there's a baseline

2:45:10 of provision that we've already been um

2:45:14 providing.

2:45:15 Yeah.

2:45:16 Uh then uh then that might give us a

2:45:20 little more insight.

2:45:21 Yeah. And so I think that will be one of

2:45:22 the types of questions that we want to

2:45:24 ask in some of that community input we

2:45:25 get back is where are you accessing

2:45:27 these because it'll be the vending

2:45:28 machines but it could also be the

2:45:30 sandboxes. It could also be through the

2:45:32 project can the lock zone distribution

2:45:35 that's happening at the public health

2:45:36 building. Could be the public restrooms.

2:45:38 Could be the libraries. So we'll we'll

2:45:39 try to drill down on some of that as we

2:45:41 move forward for sure.

2:45:44 John,

2:45:46 I apologize if this has already been

2:45:48 addressed. Do we take on uh any added

2:45:50 liability um with this?

2:45:54 I I want to be careful. My understanding

2:45:56 is no, but I will look to get you a I'll

2:45:59 drill down and get a more specific

2:46:01 answer.

2:46:03 Okay.

2:46:04 Like I said, we've already been

2:46:05 distributing a lot of these products and

2:46:07 and that was never raised as an issue.

2:46:10 But let me ask that specific question.

2:46:11 We can ask town council. It's my

2:46:13 recollection, although again I don't I

2:46:15 want to be careful about this. It's my

2:46:16 recollection that there are specific

2:46:18 good Samaritan type laws around the

2:46:20 provision of um harm reduction

2:46:23 materials. Um

2:46:25 that's that there's no liability

2:46:26 incurred for the town

2:46:28 taking the affirmative step to provide

2:46:30 it. But I don't I don't recall that for

2:46:32 certain. So I want town I'll ask town

2:46:34 council to weigh in.

2:46:37 Do we um um have defibrillators in

2:46:41 public buildings?

2:46:42 We do.

2:46:44 Okay. Um, do people know how to use

2:46:47 them? [laughter]

2:46:48 I guess that's question.

2:46:50 Yes. Uh,

2:46:52 well,

2:46:53 we we we do training on that. Our public

2:46:55 health nurse and and community health

2:46:57 manager have done a tremendous amount of

2:46:58 training on uh defibrillators, AEDs, uh,

2:47:02 over the past couple of years. That's

2:47:03 something we continue to to do and work

2:47:05 on and educate the public about. They're

2:47:07 very, having been through the training

2:47:08 myself in the past year, very easy to

2:47:10 use.

2:47:10 Yeah.

2:47:12 just to add that the trainings that the

2:47:14 health department does are really top of

2:47:16 the line. I just want to thank the whole

2:47:17 team at the health department. Um and I

2:47:19 would strongly encourage folks um to

2:47:21 just keep on keep watching social media

2:47:23 and keep watching the announcements uh

2:47:25 on the town website because um it's just

2:47:28 it's really great to have training. You

2:47:30 know, I've had CPR training, I've had AD

2:47:32 training, I've now, you know, I've I

2:47:34 went to the health the we did the wheel

2:47:36 of fortune about public health and so

2:47:37 forth. like I'm it's uh it's just it's

2:47:41 really great. Um and it's such a

2:47:42 wonderful resource that we're very lucky

2:47:44 to have. So,

2:47:45 right. Yeah. I mean, it'd be also good

2:47:47 to just uh spread the word around a

2:47:50 little more than than we have.

2:47:52 [clears throat]

2:47:52 Um

2:47:53 Absolutely. Uh my public or community

2:47:55 health manager has me doing more Tik Tok

2:47:57 style videos on social media. So, you

2:47:59 will see more of me out there and I'm

2:48:01 encouraging other staff to get involved

2:48:02 because I think people have seen enough

2:48:04 of me lately. But, yes, absolutely.

2:48:05 We'll continue to spread the word. And

2:48:07 the one thing I would add on our

2:48:08 website, I think it's under our

2:48:09 emergency preparedness tab, we do have a

2:48:11 GIS map that lays out all of so it's

2:48:14 stop the bleed kits, it's the AEDs, it's

2:48:16 the the sandboxes. I don't think I'm

2:48:20 missing anything. So any of those kind

2:48:21 of emergency medical service uh supports

2:48:24 that we have in public buildings are all

2:48:26 on that GIS map for for the public.

2:48:28 Right. And Jonathan Simpson is just

2:48:30 Oh, I'm sorry. Council is raising his

2:48:31 hand.

2:48:32 Jonathan, go ahead.

2:48:35 Uh I I would I would confirm what Chaz

2:48:38 said is that I my understanding is uh

2:48:40 the produvision

2:48:42 of of nlloxxone is covered under and

2:48:44 other harm reduction services is covered

2:48:46 under those good samaritan laws. Um that

2:48:49 includes this the provision of supplies.

2:48:51 So the simple fact that these would be

2:48:53 you know vending machines rather than

2:48:54 someone at a desk handing them out I

2:48:56 don't think there would be a liability

2:48:58 issue.

2:49:00 Well, if I may ask, is that all right?

2:49:02 Ask a question, Jonathan. Um, uh, you

2:49:06 know, what if some clever, you know,

2:49:08 young person figures out how to, u,, you

2:49:11 know, access product in a machine? Are

2:49:14 there age restrictions on who can access

2:49:17 um, these products from the machine?

2:49:20 That would be an operational question.

2:49:22 I'm not sure.

2:49:23 Yeah, Joe,

2:49:24 I can answer that. Yeah. So, uh, we have

2:49:26 the the kiosks themselves. you can ask

2:49:29 for date of birth and use that as a

2:49:31 barrier to access. Um, what I would say

2:49:34 is as it relates to all of these

2:49:35 products, I want to limit barriers as

2:49:37 much as possible. Uh, but we certainly

2:49:40 recognize that there may be some

2:49:41 concerns with spec specific items and so

2:49:43 we are prepared to implement that. Other

2:49:45 towns have implemented that as a as an

2:49:48 opportunity to to create a barrier for

2:49:51 those who might be too young for some of

2:49:52 these products.

2:49:55 Um, go ahead.

2:49:58 I'm sorry.

2:49:58 No, I didn't have any other question.

2:50:00 So, one of the problems that you would

2:50:01 age age restrict would be the sexual

2:50:04 health problems. Um, and I guess have

2:50:08 you thought through the question of, you

2:50:12 know, it may be the kids who

2:50:15 um

2:50:17 whose parents may be

2:50:20 very um hesitant to to allow them access

2:50:24 to that who need it the most. I mean, I

2:50:26 I don't know how how to how to analyze

2:50:28 that issue, but

2:50:30 I thought a lot about that today. I I

2:50:31 expected we would have some some

2:50:33 discussion around that. I what I would

2:50:34 say is I want to be respectful of that

2:50:36 that relationship between the child and

2:50:37 their parent caregiver.

2:50:40 Um you're right there there are

2:50:43 youth who are going to need those

2:50:44 resources. And so what I've seen in

2:50:47 other communities is that they are not

2:50:49 age restricting a lot of those

2:50:50 materials. Uh so I think we need to

2:50:51 think thoughtfully about how we do that

2:50:53 and what age we select. Um, I think we,

2:50:57 you know, from a public health

2:50:58 perspective, strictly from a public

2:51:00 health perspective, we need to be doing

2:51:02 all that we can to reduce harm where we

2:51:03 can. And I think this is a great

2:51:05 opportunity to do that.

2:51:08 Youth have lots of opportunities for

2:51:10 getting those materials outside of these

2:51:12 vending machines. So,

2:51:14 it's it's difficult and and I appreciate

2:51:16 you raising it. I know people are

2:51:18 thinking about it. Um my my professional

2:51:20 perspective is is we should be reducing

2:51:22 those barriers and and allowing them

2:51:24 access where we can and where we feel

2:51:26 comfortable. I certainly feel

2:51:27 comfortable doing it.

2:51:31 Okay. Any other discussion?

2:51:34 [clears throat]

2:51:35 Thank you.

2:51:36 Thank you all.

2:51:36 Do we need to vote on this?

2:51:38 So there's no vote today. We we'll we'll

2:51:40 bring it back to you uh on the 27th.

2:51:42 Okay. Great.

2:51:43 Thank you all.

2:51:44 Thank you. Yeah. Well done.

2:51:47 [clears throat]

2:51:49 Uh so Melanie, is there anyone who would

2:51:51 like to speak in public uh comments as

2:51:55 under public comment uh now that the

2:51:57 meeting's almost over?

2:52:00 There's nobody online indicating that

2:52:01 they'd like to speak and nobody

2:52:04 we have one person in the audience and

2:52:07 she's not raising her hand yet.

2:52:10 [laughter]

2:52:11 Okay. Uh with that I will end this

2:52:14 meeting. Thank you everyone. All right.

2:52:16 And it's 8 uh 8:17. Wow. We're doing

2:52:20 pretty well.

2:52:21 I I have to tell you, don't get used to

2:52:22 it. Sorry.

2:52:23 Yeah, I know.

2:52:24 Meetings coming up. There will be an

2:52:26 equal and opposite react

2:52:28 the next