Brookline Select Board Meeting Meeting - September 22, 2026

1:25 Heat. Heat.

10:08 Good evening. It is Tuesday, September

10:11 22nd. Welcome to our regular select

10:14 board meeting. Our first agenda item is

10:18 to uh have a question to move into

10:20 executive session. I will go ahead and

10:22 move that we go into executive session

10:25 pursuant to Mass General Laws chapter

10:27 30A section 21A6

10:30 purpose six for the purpose of

10:32 considering the purchase exchange lease

10:34 or value of real property specifically

10:36 26 Pleasant Street and for uh Mass

10:40 General Law Chapter 38 21A6 purpose 6

10:43 for the purpose of considering the

10:45 purchase exchange lease or value of real

10:47 property specifically the Coolage Corner

10:50 Theater located at 280 290 Harvard

10:53 Street. Bernard,

10:54 yes.

10:55 Michael,

10:55 yes.

10:56 Amanda,

10:57 yes.

10:57 Anthony,

10:58 yes.

10:58 And I also vote yes. And once we

11:02 conclude executive session, we will come

11:04 back into open session.

11:08 Recording stopped.

13:41 Bang.

17:21 Heat.

29:59 Thank

30:15 you.

33:10 Hey.

33:23 Hey. Hey.

37:39 Heat. Heat.

59:14 Yeah.

59:17 Heat.

1:07:23 Heat. Heat.

1:08:40 Heat.

1:09:04 Heat. Heat.

1:09:26 Heat up

1:09:56 here.

1:10:07 Good evening again. We are back from our

1:10:09 executive session. In executive session,

1:10:12 we took a vote regarding the lease

1:10:15 agreement at the Koolage Corner Theater

1:10:18 and we would like to take that vote

1:10:20 again now in public session. So I move

1:10:23 that we execute the modification to the

1:10:27 Coolage Corner lease agreement.

1:10:30 Bernard,

1:10:31 yes.

1:10:32 Michael,

1:10:32 yes.

1:10:33 Amanda,

1:10:34 yes.

1:10:35 Anthony,

1:10:35 yes.

1:10:36 And I also vote yes. I want to thank the

1:10:39 uh Koolage Corner Theater for uh working

1:10:42 with us toward this agreement. and we

1:10:44 very much look forward to continuing to

1:10:47 see uh documented the continuing

1:10:50 community benefits that the Koolage

1:10:52 Corner Theater provides.

1:10:56 I want to thank um as well from town

1:10:58 council's office John Bukite who has

1:10:59 been working on this process now for two

1:11:02 years, three years. Um it's been a long

1:11:05 time. So um thank you to the Koolage.

1:11:07 Thank you as always to town council's

1:11:08 office and John your work here. Um,

1:11:11 we're very grateful uh have the Koolage

1:11:13 as a community partner. I don't know if

1:11:14 you want to say a few words or anything.

1:11:18 That's okay with you.

1:11:19 That's fine. Yes.

1:11:21 Oh, we we have to have you have to come

1:11:23 to the microphone for our best

1:11:24 come up to the podium.

1:11:38 Uh my name is Michael Maynard. I am a

1:11:41 board member at the Koolage Corner

1:11:42 Theater for many years as board chair as

1:11:44 we went through the expansion with a

1:11:47 enormous support and uh encouragement of

1:11:50 the town. Um, and it's been uh a

1:11:55 wonderful success for us and I think

1:11:57 it's also been a wonderful success for

1:12:00 our patrons. Our best year ever prior to

1:12:03 COVID was about 250,000 people or almost

1:12:06 250,000. Our first fully operational

1:12:10 year um with the expansion open we uh

1:12:14 were just shy of 300,000.

1:12:17 So the it's it's a more userfriendly

1:12:20 experience for our patrons. We have more

1:12:23 screens. Uh we've been able to expand

1:12:25 our programming. And I think perhaps

1:12:28 from Brookline standpoint, hard dollars

1:12:31 and cents, but also from a cultural and

1:12:35 a community standpoint, we started the

1:12:38 education program and we're at it now

1:12:41 for just over two years. We have almost

1:12:44 3,900 kids in in the program in total

1:12:47 now. Uh and Brooklyn has almost 900 uh

1:12:53 kids are participating in the program

1:12:55 and that has been enormously successful

1:12:59 uh and I think good for the community

1:13:01 but it's been it's been great for us

1:13:04 too. There's been a lot of hunger for

1:13:06 education over the years but we didn't

1:13:07 have the space or the screens and now we

1:13:09 do. So, I just want to thank the um all

1:13:14 of the departments in town and you folks

1:13:17 uh for your support and we very much

1:13:20 appreciate your affirmation

1:13:22 of of the modification lease agreement.

1:13:25 So, thank you again. Thank you.

1:13:31 All right. So, with that we will move to

1:13:33 our next item which is announcements and

1:13:36 updates. Do any board members have

1:13:37 announcements or updates to provide?

1:13:40 Amanda,

1:13:41 I have two if that's okay. Um, the first

1:13:45 one was uh an announcement that Governor

1:13:48 Moraley said at the beginning of the

1:13:50 month that 278 million in state and

1:13:53 federal financing will support the

1:13:55 creation of more than 2500 homes in 20

1:13:58 communities. The Brooklyn Housing

1:14:00 Authorities 10 Walnut Street was one of

1:14:02 the 29 projects awarded funded. Um 10

1:14:06 Walnut Street is the first phase of the

1:14:08 redevelopment of VHA's Walnut High

1:14:10 Apartments. The project will demolish 32

1:14:12 obsolete federal public housing

1:14:14 apartments that were first constructed

1:14:16 in 1961 and replace them with 96 units

1:14:19 of family oriented affordable housing.

1:14:22 You can read the full statement from the

1:14:23 BHA, but this is great news for the town

1:14:25 and our soon to be new neighbors. Um and

1:14:28 then the second thing that I had to say

1:14:29 was a followup to my vision zero

1:14:32 questions from 3C last week. Uh if

1:14:35 anyone else is curious in the steps that

1:14:38 the town is taking uh on new municipal

1:14:41 vehicles that we acquire. Um I was just

1:14:44 going to read the answers I got to them.

1:14:46 Um the first is that all replacement

1:14:48 trucks in our fleet um come equipped

1:14:51 with speed alert systems which sound an

1:14:53 incab alarm when the vehicle se exceeds

1:14:56 a preset threshold. These systems are

1:14:59 standard on our replacement trucks. We

1:15:01 do not currently utilize this feature,

1:15:03 but we do rely on standalone GPS

1:15:05 monitoring systems which cross reference

1:15:07 a map speed limit database and alerts

1:15:09 management to specific instances of

1:15:11 excessive vehicle speed. Second one is

1:15:15 on direct vision. The excavator is a

1:15:17 high vision truck of our class 7 to8

1:15:20 trucks. Only the trash trucks are

1:15:22 considered high vision. Other class 78

1:15:25 trucks are classified as low vision and

1:15:27 for these we now specify extra convex

1:15:29 mirrors to improve driver visibility.

1:15:32 We've also added a lower window on the

1:15:34 passenger side door to improve sight

1:15:36 lines to the side of the vehicle. All

1:15:38 vehicles are additionally equipped with

1:15:40 standard safety devices including backup

1:15:42 alarms and backup cameras. And the last

1:15:45 piece is on lateral protective devices.

1:15:49 Uh, our current specifications require

1:15:51 that all vendors quoting on the Town of

1:15:53 Brooklyn vehicles include lateral

1:15:56 protective devices in their pricing. In

1:15:59 addition, we have an ongoing capital

1:16:01 improvement program to retrofit existing

1:16:04 vehicles that do not currently have

1:16:06 lateral protective devices installed.

1:16:08 Right now, the majority of our fleet

1:16:10 already meets the best practice

1:16:11 standards for this installation. So, I

1:16:14 thought that would be generally

1:16:15 generally interesting to everyone here.

1:16:17 Yes, thank you for sharing those items.

1:16:20 Anyone else, Anthony?

1:16:21 Um, I just want to point out that during

1:16:23 our last town meeting, u we passed

1:16:25 warrant article 17, under article 17,

1:16:28 the town voted to amend its general

1:16:30 bylaws to add a new article, uh, civil

1:16:32 immigration enforcement activities on

1:16:34 town property that prohibits the use of

1:16:37 town facilities for federal civ civil

1:16:40 immigration enforcement in the absence

1:16:41 of a valid judicial warrant or court

1:16:43 order authorizing such use. the attorney

1:16:46 general uh approved that warrant article

1:16:48 um earlier this week.

1:16:52 Thank you. Anybody else? Chaz,

1:16:54 couple of small announcements. Um one uh

1:16:56 ex good news, bad news announcement.

1:16:58 Good news. Um Brookline Day is this

1:17:01 Sunday. Um it's 27th. Um we're very

1:17:04 excited. It's in Koolage Corner. uh as

1:17:06 it has been the last couple of years.

1:17:08 Starting at 11:00 a.m. and going to 3M,

1:17:11 there will be a huge number of um uh

1:17:14 participants. All your town hall

1:17:16 departments um our friends from across

1:17:19 the town and the state and the county

1:17:22 will be there. Um I will say, however,

1:17:25 that we also have a potential uh wrinkle

1:17:27 in this. This is the bad news, which is

1:17:28 we have a fall nor easter scheduled to

1:17:31 come through town uh this weekend. We do

1:17:34 not yet have visibility from the weather

1:17:37 service on the direct risks to Brooklyn

1:17:40 day. We always say that Brooklyn day is

1:17:42 rain or shine, but what we have we did

1:17:45 not specify that Brooklyn day is gale

1:17:47 force winds and shine, which is the um

1:17:50 more dangerous um issue here. We really

1:17:53 don't want to be in a situation where

1:17:54 people's safety is in jeopardy outdoors.

1:17:57 we will need to make a call on whether

1:17:59 or not to um uh cancel Brookline Day and

1:18:04 look into how we would reschedule in

1:18:06 community events. Um but obviously we

1:18:08 want to be cognizant of the community's

1:18:12 um you of of the community safety first

1:18:15 and foremost. So we will update the

1:18:17 community on whether Brookline Day is

1:18:18 proceeding on Thursday morning. Um so I

1:18:22 know folks are always concerned, you

1:18:23 know, when do you make a call? How when

1:18:25 do you make a call to close school

1:18:26 because of weather events? When do you

1:18:28 make a call to call these things off?

1:18:29 There are a number of things that go

1:18:30 into that decision. So, I just want to

1:18:32 let people know that the the pivot

1:18:34 point, the the decision point for

1:18:36 Brookline Day, the next available

1:18:38 decision point is on Thursday. Although,

1:18:40 at any point, if there are issues that

1:18:43 involve the safety of the participants

1:18:44 or of residents, um we can make that

1:18:46 call um as as we get closer to the date.

1:18:49 But more to come on this. Please keep

1:18:51 Brookland Day on your calendars for now

1:18:53 and in the event that we do need to move

1:18:55 it um we will let you know and we'll

1:18:57 make that announcement. One other uh two

1:18:59 other small uh updates from the public

1:19:01 health department that um the

1:19:02 commissioner asked me to read. Um one is

1:19:05 flu shot clinics. Um Brookline Public

1:19:08 Health is offering both flu and

1:19:09 highdosese flu vaccines at three

1:19:11 community clinics. Um all residents six

1:19:14 months and older may be vaccinated. Um,

1:19:17 adults 65 and older are the ones

1:19:19 eligible for that highdose vaccine. So,

1:19:21 the clinics will be held at the Baker

1:19:22 School on September 24th, Brookline High

1:19:25 School on October 4th, and the Driscoll

1:19:27 School on October 7th. We also have a

1:19:29 program for folks who cannot leave their

1:19:31 homes uh for the homebound flu program.

1:19:34 Um, you may visit bricklinemma.gov

1:19:36 flu clinics again.govlu

1:19:41 nic

1:19:43 uh in order to have more information or

1:19:45 to schedule an appointment. Please get

1:19:46 your flu shots. Um it's going to be a

1:19:49 rough flu season and we always want to

1:19:51 be sure that you're safe. Um last, the

1:19:54 community health equity survey uh for

1:19:56 the state is now open uh for Brookline

1:19:58 residents aed 12 and older. So the

1:20:00 feedback that is received there helps

1:20:02 Brooklyn then identify community needs,

1:20:04 guide programs and services, and inform

1:20:06 funding decisions for health and equity.

1:20:08 So it's anonymous, takes it takes some

1:20:11 time. It takes around 15 to 30 minutes.

1:20:12 It's available in multiple languages,

1:20:14 but it is really important. Uh the

1:20:16 information that we get from this, it's

1:20:17 a state-run survey, is used to try and

1:20:20 figure out where our unmet needs are and

1:20:22 how we can prioritize serving the

1:20:24 community. So, please fill it out if you

1:20:26 have the opportunity. Um and to

1:20:28 participate, you go to mass.gov/halths

1:20:31 survey, all one word. Thank you very

1:20:33 much. Thank you.

1:20:35 Anyone else?

1:20:39 All right, then we will move to our next

1:20:40 agenda item, which is public comments.

1:20:42 Melanie, if you can go over the rules.

1:20:45 Thank you for joining us for public

1:20:46 comment. This is an opportunity for us

1:20:49 to hear your perspective on the issues

1:20:50 in Brooklyn that matter to you. Each

1:20:53 person speaking tonight is limited to

1:20:55 three minutes. You don't need to use the

1:20:57 entire time, but you may if you like.

1:20:59 Once 15 minutes has been met, there's an

1:21:01 opportunity at the conclusion of the

1:21:03 select board's business for additional

1:21:04 comments. Members of the public

1:21:07 sometimes raise questions during public

1:21:09 comment. We may be able to provide a

1:21:11 quick answer to a question, but are more

1:21:12 likely to work with staff to get a more

1:21:14 thorough answer and respond over email.

1:21:17 The on-screen timer will flash orange

1:21:19 when you have 60 seconds remaining and

1:21:21 red when your time is nearly up. Please

1:21:23 conclude your remarks at that time. If

1:21:25 you have more to say, you are welcome to

1:21:27 send an email to board members

1:21:28 expressing your thoughts in greater

1:21:30 detail. Any person wishing to speak must

1:21:33 begin their comment by identifying

1:21:34 themselves with their full name, either

1:21:37 their Brooklyn precinct number or street

1:21:39 address, and the specific topic on which

1:21:41 they wish to speak. The board encourages

1:21:43 but does not require that remote users

1:21:45 turn their video on when commenting.

1:21:50 So, do we have any members who have

1:21:51 signed up?

1:21:52 Yes, Ann Lusk is first.

1:21:54 All right, go right ahead.

1:21:59 I see you have handouts for us as

1:22:00 always. Thank you.

1:22:37 You tell me when. Ready.

1:22:39 Okay.

1:22:40 And lust precinct five. The Brookline

1:22:42 Building Department Planning Board

1:22:43 Zoning Board of Appeals did not follow

1:22:45 or enforce its zoning bylaws concerning

1:22:47 installation of heat pumps at 16 Hart

1:22:49 Street. The town administrator and the

1:22:51 select board members are bosses of the

1:22:53 individuals in the planning and building

1:22:54 departments and these departments should

1:22:56 follow and enforce the zoning bylaws

1:22:58 that Brookline residents have written to

1:23:00 ensure quality of life in Brooklyn. Mike

1:23:03 and Clare Wolf, owners of 16 Hart Street

1:23:05 did not include drawings of their two

1:23:06 heat pumps in their all electric house

1:23:08 additions plans. The building

1:23:10 department, planning department,

1:23:11 planning board, and the zoning board of

1:23:12 appeals did not tell them they needed to

1:23:14 include drawings of their heat pumps.

1:23:16 Mike and Claire did have a drawing of a

1:23:18 storage porch under the upstairs bedroom

1:23:20 that has the same floor as the

1:23:22 all-season porch. When Mike and Clare

1:23:24 presented to the zoning board of

1:23:25 appeals, I even asked if they would

1:23:26 install a solid wall in the opening of

1:23:28 their storage porch beside me. Mike and

1:23:30 Clare had the opportunity and did not

1:23:32 reveal that they needed their not yet

1:23:33 installed heat pumps to breathe. They

1:23:35 received five special permits for their

1:23:37 addition. After their addition was

1:23:39 built, Mike and Clare put a stacked

1:23:41 two-can heat pump inside their storage

1:23:43 porch. The sound was extremely loud in

1:23:45 my front walkway, my back front, my

1:23:47 front door, and inside my house. Even in

1:23:49 the winter, I went to the town each week

1:23:51 and wrote countless emails. Because

1:23:53 their two stacked fans were less than

1:23:55 two feet from the property line, the

1:23:57 town suggested they put their two heat

1:23:59 pumps in the backyard away from me.

1:24:00 Instead, Mike and Clare put two separate

1:24:02 heat pumps back inside their storage

1:24:04 ports with the two fans facing me. I

1:24:06 live 5 feet away. Zoning bylaw specified

1:24:09 that heat pumps are to be in the side or

1:24:11 rear yard and ground mounted. The new

1:24:14 bylaw allows heat pumps by right to be

1:24:16 two feet from the property line and yet

1:24:17 Mike and Clair's plans were part of the

1:24:19 permitting process. On August 31st,

1:24:21 2026, I sent Polyelco an email.

1:24:24 Therefore, because you reviewed Mike

1:24:26 Sinclair's house, their house was not a

1:24:28 built by right. Dan Bennett said they

1:24:30 could put their heat pumps in whatever

1:24:31 location they wanted by right. You

1:24:33 cannot have a house addition that is not

1:24:35 built by right and install the heat pump

1:24:36 within the addition by right. The house

1:24:38 is either built by right or not built by

1:24:40 right. Polyelco wrote correct. Zoning

1:24:43 bylaws also specified that heat pumps

1:24:45 are to pass a decibel level test. Mike

1:24:47 and Clare had a decibel level test

1:24:48 conducted but that I pointed out to the

1:24:50 planning and building department staff.

1:24:52 This test was conducted by the

1:24:53 contractor's young apprentice carpenter

1:24:56 who presumably took a course from COAC.

1:24:59 I called CHOHC and learned their course

1:25:01 was for industry. They did not teach how

1:25:04 to conduct a decibel test for house. The

1:25:06 town approved my coninclair certificate

1:25:08 of occupancy based on a decibel level

1:25:10 test that did not include proper

1:25:11 measurements including where the

1:25:13 measurements were taken. All heat pumps

1:25:15 also get allowed with age. I contacted a

1:25:18 lawyer and as a start I would have to

1:25:20 spend 2,500 to litigate the issue. I

1:25:23 should not have to spend money or listen

1:25:25 to their heat pumps when the town did

1:25:26 not follow zoning bylaws. Mike and

1:25:28 Claire should be put projected to put

1:25:30 their two heat pumps near their own

1:25:31 walkway in front of their windows in

1:25:33 their back of their back room. Heat

1:25:35 pumps in this location are farther from

1:25:36 the abutter of 14 up street than on my

1:25:39 side if the floor area ratio allows. My

1:25:42 your time is up.

1:25:43 Thank you.

1:25:46 Right. Who is our next speaker?

1:25:50 Nobody signed up prior.

1:25:52 Anyone else in the room like to be heard

1:25:54 now?

1:25:57 Anyone online?

1:25:59 You can use the hand raise feature on

1:26:00 Zoom if you'd like to be heard.

1:26:06 Seeing none, in that case, we will move

1:26:07 to our next agenda item, which is

1:26:09 miscellaneous.

1:26:12 Are there any particular miscellaneous

1:26:14 items that members would like to discuss

1:26:17 first? Anthony,

1:26:18 I have 7J and 7K. Two quick questions

1:26:21 for 7J. The question of approving an

1:26:24 authorization to hire request for town

1:26:25 council. Associate Town Council. Is this

1:26:27 a backfill or the creation of a new

1:26:29 position?

1:26:29 Uh, it's a back, it's a backfill. Um,

1:26:31 uh, one of our associate town councils

1:26:33 is unfortunately departing for a

1:26:34 position with the state. We wish you the

1:26:36 best. Uh, but we need to hire a new, uh,

1:26:37 attorney.

1:26:38 Okay. And then 7K, uh, Porchfest. I'm

1:26:41 assuming that also might get cancelled

1:26:43 potentially. Yes. Thank you.

1:26:44 Very sad.

1:26:45 And, uh, what would be the timing around

1:26:49 when a postponement would be announced?

1:26:50 Same time on Thursday.

1:26:52 Okay.

1:26:54 Amanda,

1:26:55 I have a question about 7B. Um, I can

1:26:58 ask now or

1:26:59 go ahead 7B.

1:27:01 Um, High Street is on the Vision Zero

1:27:03 high priority network and so I'm

1:27:05 wondering if we have any Vision Zero

1:27:07 improvements planned in the course of

1:27:10 repaving.

1:27:12 I will follow up with DPW on that. I

1:27:15 believe the answer is yes, but I will

1:27:17 double I want to be positive that I have

1:27:19 the um the exact improvements that are

1:27:22 being made there. Dan Murphy's online.

1:27:24 Oh, Dan is online. Yes, there we go.

1:27:26 Dan, if you could answer. Thank you.

1:27:28 Yes, I can. Uh, yeah, we high street uh

1:27:31 the we're basically planning to do 10

1:27:34 and a half foot lanes and use whatever

1:27:37 remains for the shoulders divided

1:27:39 equally on the sides. And there are two

1:27:41 uh rapid rectangular flashing beacons

1:27:44 planned as well.

1:27:46 So, they don't currently exist where the

1:27:49 rapid flashing beacons are being added.

1:27:52 That's right. Okay.

1:27:54 All right. I have Bernard. Go ahead.

1:27:57 Let people know that I made some edits

1:28:00 to the minutes. Uh first was changing

1:28:03 long-term strategic direction to

1:28:05 medium-term. Is that correct?

1:28:08 I always thought that roadmap was

1:28:09 medium.

1:28:10 Yes, that's correct.

1:28:11 Okay. The other thing is uh I think it's

1:28:13 important to add um the uh goal of

1:28:17 increasing the racial and economic

1:28:18 diversity of Brookline households which

1:28:21 was goal five in our road map.

1:28:23 Yeah.

1:28:24 And you know I think this summary should

1:28:25 include that.

1:28:26 Absolutely.

1:28:28 Anyone else?

1:28:30 All right. So why don't we vote 7A

1:28:32 separately? So I move that we approve

1:28:34 the meeting minutes from September 15th

1:28:37 subjects to the revisions provided by

1:28:39 Michael, Amanda, and Bernard.

1:28:42 Yes.

1:28:43 Michael,

1:28:43 yes.

1:28:44 Amanda,

1:28:45 yes.

1:28:45 Anthony,

1:28:46 yes.

1:28:46 And I also vote yes. And then I move

1:28:49 that we approve items 7B through 7M in

1:28:55 omnibus fashion.

1:28:56 Bernard,

1:28:57 yes.

1:28:57 Michael,

1:28:58 yes.

1:28:58 Amanda,

1:28:59 yes.

1:29:00 Anthony,

1:29:00 yes. and I also vote yes. So with that

1:29:05 we move to boards and commissions

1:29:08 interviews.

1:29:13 First we have Brooklyn commission for

1:29:17 the arts. There are three vacancies

1:29:20 and we have Jin man by

1:29:23 online.

1:29:25 All right Jin man whenever you are

1:29:27 ready.

1:29:30 Hello.

1:29:31 Yes, I'm here.

1:29:32 All right. So, if you'd like to

1:29:33 introduce yourself, tell us about why

1:29:37 you decided to apply for Commission for

1:29:39 the Arts and what it is about your

1:29:41 experience or interest that makes you

1:29:43 believe you would be a good fit for this

1:29:45 commission.

1:29:47 Sure. Yeah. So, my name is Jin Man Bay.

1:29:49 I'm a designer by trade. I've been in

1:29:53 the Boston area uh as a resident uh

1:29:57 since 2008. and I've been a Brooklyn

1:30:00 resident for I'm on my fifth year as a

1:30:03 Brooklyn resident. And um yeah, I'm

1:30:07 looking to a just kind of exercise uh

1:30:11 being a good citizen and give back to

1:30:13 the community that I live in. And I sort

1:30:16 of have a personal hobby interest in the

1:30:18 sort of beautifification and design of

1:30:20 cities. I think I I believe that um the

1:30:24 the quality and the beauty of spaces

1:30:27 um has a high correlation with you know

1:30:30 yielding good results for the soul of

1:30:32 the people and the good of the town. And

1:30:34 so um yeah I think I am again being a

1:30:39 designer by trade. So I I started out my

1:30:41 career in graphic design um and branding

1:30:45 and moved into sort of user experience

1:30:47 and product design. And so I I come from

1:30:49 a wide sort of variety of artistic

1:30:52 experiences and I'm excited to be become

1:30:56 um a part of this group.

1:30:58 All right. Thank you. A question I have

1:31:00 for you. I see in your application that

1:31:03 you are a fan of architect Theaster

1:31:07 Gates and I'm wondering if you could

1:31:09 talk a little bit more about uh what it

1:31:12 is regarding Gates's uh architecture

1:31:15 that you would maybe want to bring with

1:31:18 you to the Commission of Arts.

1:31:22 Yeah, I I think he so we used to live in

1:31:24 Chicago uh which is where he lives and

1:31:28 his whole thing is that he he buys up uh

1:31:32 abandoned buildings in the south side of

1:31:34 Chicago and he will redesign and

1:31:36 renovate them into community spaces. And

1:31:38 so I think for him it's um he has a

1:31:41 quote that says that beauty has the

1:31:43 right to live anywhere. And so it's more

1:31:45 his philosophy

1:31:47 uh and his will to use his artistic

1:31:50 talents um to better the community.

1:31:53 Um and so I I think it's just the the

1:31:56 intent with which he designs, which is

1:31:58 just to make every space better and more

1:32:01 usable for people. Um not just

1:32:03 aesthetically, but just for for the will

1:32:06 and the good of the people. And so, uh,

1:32:07 I've just always been a fan of his

1:32:09 philosophy and his approach to design

1:32:11 and something that I'm hoping to pursue

1:32:13 hopefully in my career as well.

1:32:16 Right. Anyone else have questions?

1:32:17 Michael,

1:32:19 uh, thank you very much for your

1:32:21 application. Uh, I'm interested to know

1:32:25 uh, just in the cont first of all, one

1:32:28 question. Have you uh, participated or

1:32:31 uh, looked uh, sat in on meetings of the

1:32:34 Brooklyn Commission for the Arts?

1:32:37 uh to date. No, I have not sat in on an

1:32:39 actual meeting uh for the for that

1:32:41 commission.

1:32:42 Thank you. Um and my second question is

1:32:45 um following up on David's question

1:32:48 about um and your answer about

1:32:51 reutilizing different spaces. Um are

1:32:54 there spaces um that you see within the

1:32:57 town of Brookline that would be ripe for

1:33:00 this kind of treatment or

1:33:02 transformation?

1:33:04 Um I you know Koolage Corner I think has

1:33:08 always been so I I look at Koolage

1:33:10 Corner as a great sort of inspiration

1:33:12 just because they do a lot of events

1:33:14 where they block off the streets like

1:33:15 Brooklyn Day and make it a more walkable

1:33:19 place. I think uh I'm a big nerd about

1:33:22 this kind of stuff. So I I read a lot of

1:33:24 books about why old European cities are

1:33:27 so beautiful um universally considered

1:33:30 beautiful and and it's about making them

1:33:32 more human scaled and walkable um and so

1:33:37 more opportunities to sort of uh create

1:33:40 uh the sort of walkable spaces I think

1:33:43 throughout um and and less sort of car

1:33:46 centric I think is always better for the

1:33:48 town and so um that's the sort of thing

1:33:51 that I would hope to happen more and

1:33:53 more.

1:33:54 Thank you.

1:33:56 Anyone else?

1:33:58 All right. Well, thank you very much for

1:33:59 your interview. We don't typically uh

1:34:02 vote the same day of an interview. Uh

1:34:04 but you will hear back from us when we

1:34:06 do make our selections.

1:34:08 Thank you so much.

1:34:11 All right. Next, we will move to

1:34:13 interviews of candidates for

1:34:15 transportation board. And

1:34:18 let me clarify one thing. So there are

1:34:20 still three more openings for the

1:34:21 Commission on Arts even after the number

1:34:23 that we nominated like a month ago.

1:34:26 Yes.

1:34:27 Okay.

1:34:28 How many people are in this commission?

1:34:30 Give me one second. I'll give you that

1:34:31 information.

1:34:33 Just wanted to understand the scale of

1:34:35 what we need to fill.

1:34:52 10 members

1:34:54 and there are three vacancies.

1:34:57 All right. So now we will move to

1:34:59 interviews of transportation board and

1:35:01 our first candidate to be interviewed is

1:35:03 Greg Wheeler.

1:35:13 Good evening.

1:35:14 Good evening. So, as I said to the uh

1:35:17 candidate for Commission of the Arts, if

1:35:19 you can tell us a bit about yourself,

1:35:20 your background, your interests, and

1:35:23 what makes you feel you would be a good

1:35:25 fit for transportation board.

1:35:27 Absolutely. Um so, good evening

1:35:28 everyone. Uh my name is Greg Wheeler. I

1:35:31 live on Kent Street with my wife

1:35:32 Charlotte and our two year two two and a

1:35:34 half yearear-old daughter Ella. Uh I am

1:35:37 a town meeting member in precinct 3 and

1:35:39 I want to thank you all for uh giving me

1:35:40 the opportunity to interview here

1:35:42 tonight. Um I'm a very firm believer

1:35:45 that our transportation network can

1:35:47 empower people to live and move about

1:35:50 town uh safely, affordably, and

1:35:52 sustainably. And I think that my

1:35:55 experience can uh help the

1:35:56 transportation board in the town

1:35:58 continue advancing in these um these

1:36:00 really critical objectives. Excuse me.

1:36:03 Uh my most uh relevant professional

1:36:05 experience comes from my time working at

1:36:07 the MBTA where I was a senior director

1:36:10 on the green line transformation team.

1:36:12 Uh you might be familiar with their work

1:36:13 as a number of my former colleagues uh

1:36:16 are leading the accessibility

1:36:18 improvements on the C branch this summer

1:36:19 and into the fall. Um I joined the TE at

1:36:23 a particularly difficult time for the

1:36:25 organization. It was uh at the time when

1:36:28 the agency was just beginning to

1:36:29 identify and try to respond to decades

1:36:32 worth of deferred maintenance while also

1:36:35 trying to advance um really critical

1:36:38 longer term capital projects. And I

1:36:40 think that parallels to some degree with

1:36:41 what Brookline is looking to do with its

1:36:43 transportation network. Um my time at

1:36:46 the T gave me a great deal of experience

1:36:47 orchestrating large construction

1:36:49 projects under what I would call

1:36:52 moderate degree of public scrutiny. Um,

1:36:55 and um, I think that would, you know,

1:36:57 help serve the transportation board and

1:36:59 I would love to contribute. Um, in what

1:37:01 little spare time I do have, I produce

1:37:04 um, datadriven stories on housing and

1:37:06 transportation. Uh, my most recent story

1:37:09 was on a deep dive in the Vision Zero

1:37:12 efforts in Somerville, Cambridge, and

1:37:13 Boston. Um, because I was interested to

1:37:15 see what Brooklyn could learn from those

1:37:17 communities. Um, I have a couple of

1:37:19 charts from that report. I don't want to

1:37:21 give you any extra reading any more than

1:37:22 you already have. Um, but if you're

1:37:24 interested, I have a couple handouts for

1:37:25 you. Um, happy to take questions. Thank

1:37:28 you.

1:37:28 All right. Who would like to go first?

1:37:30 Amanda.

1:37:32 Yeah. Um,

1:37:34 can you outline the number of ways that

1:37:36 you, uh, typically transverse the town,

1:37:39 either through it or around it on a

1:37:41 regular basis, and how might that

1:37:43 influence the perspectives you might

1:37:44 bring to the T-board?

1:37:46 No, that's a good question. I I think

1:37:47 um, having a broad perspective of the

1:37:50 different modes of transportation is

1:37:51 really critical. Um, I would say I use

1:37:54 as many modes as I as I can. I My family

1:37:57 own a car, so we do periodically drive.

1:37:59 Um, I have a cargo bike and I ride with

1:38:01 my two-year-old daughter to daycare and

1:38:03 to the grocery store. Um, I walk and run

1:38:06 around town. Um, I've tried to get to

1:38:08 every corner of the town by foot or

1:38:10 bike. Um, because I think um, being out

1:38:13 in the open and in the town gives you a

1:38:15 different perspective as well. Um, and

1:38:17 as a parent of a toddler, taking our

1:38:19 stroller uh on our sidewalks has been an

1:38:22 illuminating experience for me as well.

1:38:24 Um, obviously I take the tea. Um, having

1:38:27 worked for them as well. So, I think um

1:38:30 I have a a pretty broad perspective of

1:38:32 the different modes and and needs for

1:38:33 for different users around town.

1:38:36 Thank you,

1:38:37 Bernard. So, uh, at the Executive Office

1:38:40 of Health and uh, human services. Yeah.

1:38:42 uh you worked on um uh providing

1:38:45 protective services to people with

1:38:47 disabilities. Uh how is has that infor

1:38:50 how it let me see what's the question

1:38:52 how has that informed your uh your

1:38:55 understanding of some of the needs uh

1:38:57 with respect to transportation systems

1:38:59 here in Brooklyn or elsewhere and what

1:39:02 suggestions do you you have? No, I I

1:39:05 think um you know, I've worked um in

1:39:08 some capacity in my my current role at

1:39:09 the executive office um around

1:39:12 protective services for for people with

1:39:14 disabilities um which doesn't tie

1:39:17 necessarily directly into the

1:39:18 transportation needs of of that

1:39:19 community. But I think my the biggest

1:39:21 factor I take away is that the needs of

1:39:23 of people with disabilities are very

1:39:24 broad and and varied. Um and there's not

1:39:28 a you know um there's a lot of different

1:39:32 needs. So I don't think that there's um

1:39:34 I think our transportation network needs

1:39:36 to take into account if it's a mobility

1:39:38 need and and the different mechanisms

1:39:39 that we have to help accommodate um both

1:39:42 at the town level or with the TE's

1:39:44 paratransit service um for vision

1:39:46 impairment disabilities. There's

1:39:48 different types of disabilities that

1:39:49 have different types of um of

1:39:51 transportation needs. So I think that's

1:39:53 just a perspective I've I've gotten a

1:39:55 greater appreciation for in my current

1:39:56 work.

1:39:59 You mention in your application that you

1:40:02 are a certified public accountant, that

1:40:04 you maintain your license, and I'm

1:40:05 curious whether there's anything you

1:40:07 bring from your background as an

1:40:09 accountant,

1:40:10 uh whether that would inform at all your

1:40:13 role on transportation board.

1:40:14 Yeah, I don't I don't typically lead

1:40:16 with that, my uh my accounting

1:40:18 background, but um no, absolutely. I

1:40:20 think the you know, we talk a lot about

1:40:22 infrastructure, we talk a lot about

1:40:23 projects. It's coming back to the the

1:40:26 budgets um is is obviously a huge

1:40:28 factor. Um I live in spreadsheets. I um

1:40:33 love digging into details. Um and you

1:40:37 know I have experience with with company

1:40:39 financial statements um financial

1:40:42 information at the state level. Not as

1:40:44 familiar with municipal finance, but

1:40:46 that's that's obviously something I'm

1:40:48 excited to dig into. So um definitely.

1:40:51 All right. Anyone else? Michael. Sure.

1:40:55 I mean, as a as I know you're you're

1:40:58 aware because I've seen your

1:41:00 participation in in various in various

1:41:03 ways uh around uh considering our

1:41:06 transportation infrastructure. Um

1:41:10 our our our our public way system and

1:41:14 you know thinking of it as an entire

1:41:16 system you know has lots of needs

1:41:17 pushing and pulling on it from all

1:41:19 directions um in all the modes that you

1:41:22 talk about as well as you know the needs

1:41:24 of our business community for people to

1:41:27 be able to access their businesses

1:41:28 people uh who are coming to and from

1:41:31 home schools other town services etc. Um

1:41:34 I'm wondering in the course of your

1:41:37 digging in are there partic any

1:41:40 particular insights or learnings that

1:41:42 you think uh could apply in your work as

1:41:45 a transportation board at the

1:41:47 transportation board um that would sort

1:41:50 of broadly

1:41:52 uh influence your consideration of the

1:41:54 public way?

1:41:55 Yeah, that's a good question. And I

1:41:57 think um you know one thing I would come

1:42:00 back to is the town has I think pretty

1:42:03 clear sets of plans and objectives

1:42:05 around transportation and

1:42:08 sustainability. Um and I that would for

1:42:10 one be something that I would want to

1:42:11 anchor. Um the decision-m making process

1:42:15 around in terms of our climate action

1:42:17 resiliency plan, our vision zero plan

1:42:19 which we hear a lot about. Um and I

1:42:22 think the the three priorities I listed

1:42:24 in my introduction um and particularly

1:42:27 safety would be kind of an anchoring

1:42:29 point. Um I think a lot of our

1:42:31 objectives in in the transportation

1:42:34 needs are complimentary. Um we do often

1:42:37 hear about whether they do come into

1:42:38 conflict um or there's conflicting

1:42:41 needs. um definitely would want to hear

1:42:43 that through. But but airing on the side

1:42:45 of safety and and learning too from what

1:42:47 Somerville and Cambridge have have have

1:42:49 paved the way on as well um is another

1:42:52 thing that I would I would certainly

1:42:53 want to to learn from.

1:42:55 Thank you.

1:42:56 Just one other question I have. Uh how

1:42:58 many transportation board meetings have

1:43:00 you attended?

1:43:02 I have attended at least every meeting

1:43:05 going back at least to the spring uh of

1:43:07 the transportation board um as well as a

1:43:09 number of advisory committee meetings um

1:43:13 because I'm I have a lot to learn and I

1:43:15 I would love to if I'm appointed to this

1:43:17 position hit the ground running as much

1:43:19 as possible. So um I've done as much as

1:43:21 I can to to catch up on past work that

1:43:23 the transportations board has done,

1:43:25 their current priorities and where

1:43:26 they're where they're headed.

1:43:28 All right. Thank you.

1:43:31 Uh so uh as I explained to the prior

1:43:34 applicant, we don't typically vote on

1:43:37 the day of an interview, but uh we will

1:43:39 get back to you when we're ready to make

1:43:41 a decision.

1:43:42 Thank you.

1:43:44 Our next candidate is Brian Hawklutener.

1:43:53 Hi there.

1:43:54 Hello. Uh so as I've said to the other

1:43:56 candidates, uh please tell us a bit

1:43:58 about your background, what it is about

1:44:00 your experience and your interests that

1:44:02 you feel would make you a good fit for

1:44:04 the transportation board.

1:44:06 Sure. Um my name is Brian Hook Lightner.

1:44:08 I live at um on Elm Street, Precinct 6.

1:44:12 Um I'm a former town meeting member from

1:44:15 Precinct 6. I've served on a few

1:44:17 different boards in the town, including

1:44:20 um predecessor to the diversity, equity,

1:44:25 um community relations commission. Um I

1:44:28 served on a commission that wrote zoning

1:44:30 for the Emerald

1:44:32 Isle or sort of Brooklyn Avenue area. Um

1:44:35 a committee that advised the select

1:44:37 board on eminent domain for 22 Tapen

1:44:40 Street. Um I'm a real estate lawyer by

1:44:43 trade. So that's my my expert that I

1:44:46 think I bring. I I represent clients on

1:44:49 real estate development projects

1:44:51 primarily in greater Boston, um Boston,

1:44:54 Cambridge, Somerville,

1:44:56 um River, um Newton. Um I don't do a lot

1:45:00 of work in Brooklyn. My clients are not

1:45:03 sort of Brooklyn developers, so I don't

1:45:04 think that would be an issue. Um but I

1:45:07 do have a lot of experience in

1:45:09 representing clients before

1:45:12 um board of appeals um type decisions

1:45:15 and a lot of transportation issues that

1:45:17 come up. So an example of a project that

1:45:19 I'm working on right now is the Suffach

1:45:21 Downs project in East Boston and River.

1:45:24 It's the largest project that's been

1:45:26 permitted in greater Boston, 16 million

1:45:28 square feet. Um, it's going to be

1:45:31 developed over 20 years. And there's all

1:45:33 kinds of transportation issues that come

1:45:35 up. Another project I'm working on is a

1:45:37 project in East Boston, 160 MLEN, which

1:45:40 is a um multimodal sort of industrial

1:45:45 facility with a lot of transportation

1:45:47 issues. So, I I do come across a lot of

1:45:49 transportation stuff in my in my um my

1:45:53 work and I think I could bring that to

1:45:56 the board.

1:45:58 All right. Any questions from members?

1:46:00 Amanda,

1:46:01 I'll give you the same question I just

1:46:03 gave, Gregory. Um, can you outline the

1:46:06 ways in which you transverse around and

1:46:09 through the town on a regular basis and

1:46:11 how might that influence the

1:46:12 perspectives you bring to the T-board?

1:46:14 Sure. So, I I am um I I I'm very

1:46:18 balanced, I guess. I take the tea to

1:46:21 work. I also bike to work sometimes and

1:46:24 um carpool to work. So, I've I work

1:46:28 downtown and so I've used all of those

1:46:30 methods to get downtown. Um, I walk

1:46:33 around Brookline a ton with my dog. Um,

1:46:37 so I I sort of traverse the streets that

1:46:40 way. Um, I just we just bought a new

1:46:43 car, which was our first plugin. So, I

1:46:46 just have kind of gone from, you know,

1:46:48 just a gas powered car to now we have a

1:46:51 gas powered car and a plugin. So, um,

1:46:53 but I I I um am sort of an avid

1:46:57 pedestrian, I guess, is sort of I I

1:46:59 think what I think of the most. It

1:47:00 really is what drew me to Brooklyn. Um,

1:47:03 living in Brooklyn Village and being

1:47:05 able to walk around is something that I

1:47:07 think is really important and that I've

1:47:09 seen on the transportation board when

1:47:11 I've observed their meetings. Really

1:47:14 balancing those things I think is is

1:47:16 important. thinking about the needs of

1:47:20 drivers, parking, pedestrians,

1:47:23 bicyclists, and really focusing on

1:47:25 safety, but also really thinking about

1:47:27 all the ways those things come together.

1:47:29 And I I've been very impressed with the

1:47:31 transportation board and the way that

1:47:33 the members have brought really

1:47:35 thoughtful solutions to that and I think

1:47:39 have done a pretty successful job for

1:47:41 the most part in balancing those

1:47:43 different needs.

1:47:46 All right. Yeah. Um you mentioned in

1:47:48 your materials that you think that your

1:47:50 real estate background will

1:47:53 uh will be very helpful on the transport

1:47:55 transportation board. Um as a real

1:47:59 estate lawyer representing large real

1:48:01 estate developments. Tell me how that

1:48:05 background would would play on the

1:48:07 transportation board. I can think of a

1:48:09 number of ways but tell me what you

1:48:11 think.

1:48:11 Yeah. So, I think it's given me some

1:48:13 great exposure to what other cities and

1:48:16 towns are doing and just being able to

1:48:18 appreciate some of the innovations that

1:48:21 are happening in Cambridge and

1:48:23 Somerville, you know, Newton. A lot of

1:48:25 these projects are really trying to find

1:48:28 ways to get people out of their cars and

1:48:31 um and find ways to,

1:48:35 you know, sort of reduce single

1:48:37 occupancy vehicle stuff. That's that's a

1:48:39 big focus that our clients or my clients

1:48:43 are sort of dealing with on a regular

1:48:45 basis. Um, you know, trying to figure

1:48:48 out how to build in a relatively dense

1:48:51 area in a way that's not going to create

1:48:55 more traffic and more, you know, sort of

1:48:58 conflicts, I guess. So, I think it's

1:49:00 it's been helpful to see that. Um, I do

1:49:04 think that Brooklyn

1:49:06 is has some room to grow in in in that

1:49:10 regard. I don't think we're sort of

1:49:11 caught up to where some of these other

1:49:14 cities and towns around us have been

1:49:16 sort of like been able to sort of

1:49:18 progress in terms of um moving the

1:49:21 needle. But I think, you know, we're

1:49:22 we're getting there. We're starting in

1:49:24 that direction and we're making

1:49:25 progress.

1:49:28 Michael.

1:49:29 Um,

1:49:31 so, uh, you started to answer the

1:49:33 question that I was going to ask you,

1:49:35 which I asked Greg before about, um, you

1:49:39 how you think about, uh,

1:49:42 the all balancing all the broad uses of

1:49:44 the public way. Uh, you know, and you

1:49:46 tal you enumerated several of them and

1:49:48 you talked about the balance between

1:49:50 between them all. Um, I wonder if you

1:49:53 can drill down to that a little bit, you

1:49:56 know, in terms of

1:49:59 uh in terms of what balance looks like

1:50:01 to you or um how you would approach

1:50:06 questions uh on the public way um with

1:50:10 regard to the balance that you think is

1:50:12 needed.

1:50:14 Yeah, I think the example that I think

1:50:16 of is um the Washington Street project

1:50:19 as as there was a lot of discussion

1:50:21 about,

1:50:22 you know, it's not every block on

1:50:24 Washington Street where you have these

1:50:25 issues, but when you get to the village

1:50:27 when where when where there's really a

1:50:29 crunch and the idea was how do we

1:50:33 preserve some parking for the businesses

1:50:36 in and around Brookline Village? um

1:50:38 particularly sort of think of the block

1:50:40 from where we are right now to

1:50:43 um

1:50:45 where where kind of Washington Street

1:50:47 and Harvard Street intersect and that's

1:50:49 where I felt like it was really crunched

1:50:51 and there was a a a meeting of the

1:50:53 transportation board where they were

1:50:55 looking at right how do we fit a bike

1:50:57 lane in this space preserve parking as

1:51:01 many spaces as we can for for businesses

1:51:03 to allow some parking in this area while

1:51:07 also maximizing pedestrian safety. And I

1:51:11 felt like it was one of those situations

1:51:14 where nobody was really thrilled with

1:51:18 the results. There wasn't one group that

1:51:19 was like we won, but I felt like the

1:51:22 balance, they found the right balance on

1:51:24 that um in that conversation. And um I

1:51:28 think that's just a going to be the kind

1:51:30 of challenge that I look forward to

1:51:32 being part of on the transportation

1:51:33 board, helping to find that kind of

1:51:35 middle ground that works for different

1:51:38 users and kind of you know the Goldilock

1:51:41 solution. I I think think of it as

1:51:43 Thank you. A question I have uh how

1:51:46 would the uh climate action and

1:51:48 resiliency plan and vision zero help

1:51:51 inform your thinking on uh various

1:51:54 proposals that are coming before

1:51:56 transportation board?

1:51:59 Well, I think vision zero I just think

1:52:01 of that as you know sort of the focus on

1:52:04 safety and really prioritizing

1:52:07 um safety. And I guess I I don't have a

1:52:11 ton of background on I haven't sort of

1:52:13 dug into the actual

1:52:16 um climate resiliency plan for

1:52:18 Brookline, but my understanding would be

1:52:20 that you know the vision zero is

1:52:22 certainly about safety and I think

1:52:24 that's got to be the number one

1:52:25 priority.

1:52:27 Okay,

1:52:29 any other questions?

1:52:31 All right. All right. Well, thank you

1:52:32 very much for the interview and as I

1:52:34 told the others, we'll get back to you

1:52:35 when uh it's the day for making a

1:52:38 decision.

1:52:38 Thank you.

1:52:42 All right. With that, we will now vote

1:52:46 on some reappoints.

1:52:48 Uh I move that we reappoint Len Holy for

1:52:52 a three-year term to transportation

1:52:54 board.

1:52:56 Yes.

1:52:56 Bernard Michael.

1:52:57 Yes.

1:52:58 Amanda,

1:52:58 yes. And I also vote yes. I believe

1:53:02 Anthony does as well. It was going to

1:53:05 tell me.

1:53:06 Yes. Let's add Anthony as well.

1:53:12 All right. Now we will move to our next

1:53:15 item which is the cable ascertainment

1:53:18 hearing. public hearing on RCN license

1:53:22 renewal for the purpose of allowing the

1:53:23 public an opportunity to comment on town

1:53:26 and public cable related needs in RCN's

1:53:30 performance. So, I'm going to go ahead

1:53:32 and open a public hearing. This is a

1:53:34 public hearing uh as part of the license

1:53:37 renewal process. Brookline's RCN cable

1:53:40 license expires on April 27th, 2028.

1:53:44 Federal and state law require holding a

1:53:46 hearing to allow the public an

1:53:48 opportunity to comment on town and

1:53:50 public cable related needs and RCN's

1:53:53 performance. Notice of this hearing was

1:53:55 posted twice in the Boston Herald as

1:53:57 required and on the town's website.

1:53:59 Copies of the legal advertisements are

1:54:02 entered into the hearing record. We will

1:54:04 provide any interested members of the

1:54:06 public and other interested persons with

1:54:08 an opportunity to submit input about

1:54:10 what cable related needs are important

1:54:12 to Brookline and about how RCN has

1:54:15 performed under its existing license.

1:54:17 Before proceeding to public comments, I

1:54:19 would like to thank Brookline's

1:54:20 community television access provider,

1:54:22 Brookline Interactive Group, and RCN for

1:54:25 their participation and assistance in

1:54:27 the ongoing license renewal proceedings.

1:54:30 In this hearing, the board will hear

1:54:31 comments on all RCN cable related

1:54:34 matters to include customer service,

1:54:36 license administration, and important

1:54:39 local studio needs, community

1:54:40 programming, PEG access, and Comcast

1:54:44 support for Brookline's local channels.

1:54:46 Please try and keep comments limited to

1:54:48 3 minutes. If members of the public or

1:54:50 other interested parties wish to provide

1:54:52 comments following this hearing, they

1:54:54 can send their comments to the town of

1:54:55 Brooklyn care of Charles Young,

1:54:58 assistant town administrator. Before

1:55:00 proceeding to public comments, I also

1:55:02 want to welcome RCN's representative,

1:55:04 David von Morates, and ask David to make

1:55:07 some introductory comments on behalf of

1:55:10 Comcast.

1:55:13 RCN, excuse me.

1:55:15 And it looks like David is not here

1:55:17 tonight or wasn't able to make it. So,

1:55:19 thank you for recognizing him um chair,

1:55:22 but uh but there will be no comments

1:55:24 from RCM tonight.

1:55:27 All right. I will note our um our

1:55:29 council um firm um cable access matters

1:55:32 uh Bill August is online if there are

1:55:34 questions on the technical details or

1:55:37 the um legal uh requirements involved in

1:55:40 cable license.

1:55:45 I guess now we'll go to public comment

1:55:47 if there is any.

1:55:49 We have two people signed up. We have

1:55:50 Jessica Smiser and Kathy Seedman.

1:55:53 Jessica's here.

1:55:55 All right. Go ahead, Jessica.

1:56:00 Hi everyone. Thank you for the

1:56:02 opportunity to speak tonight regarding

1:56:03 the renewal of the RCN franchise

1:56:05 agreement. My name is Jessica Smiser.

1:56:07 I'm executive director of Brookline

1:56:09 Interactive Group aka BIG. For those who

1:56:11 don't know, BIG is the independent

1:56:13 nonprofit community media center for

1:56:15 Brooklyn. A member organization and a

1:56:18 501c3 nonprofit, BIG offers extensive

1:56:21 multimedia training and access to

1:56:22 highquality equipment. We provide

1:56:24 discounted professional media services

1:56:26 to local nonprofit organizations,

1:56:28 education partners, and Brooklyn

1:56:30 businesses. BIG also produces local

1:56:32 government coverage, including select

1:56:34 boards, school committee meetings, and

1:56:36 the annual town meetings, and airs this

1:56:38 coverage on our cable channels and

1:56:39 online. We also have a community channel

1:56:42 where local residents can produce

1:56:43 community service, educational and

1:56:45 entertainment programming. Our

1:56:46 programming is funded through grants,

1:56:49 donations, membership fees, fee for

1:56:51 service contracts, and importantly for

1:56:53 this hearing, cable franchise fee

1:56:55 passroughs. In 1985, Big was

1:56:58 incorporated as a nonprofit called

1:57:00 Brookline Community Cable Trust. During

1:57:02 this period, as the advent of cable

1:57:03 television began, the federal government

1:57:06 mandated through the cable

1:57:07 communications act of 1984, that cable

1:57:10 companies must have franchise agreements

1:57:12 with municipalities in order to use the

1:57:14 public right of way to run cable.

1:57:16 Section 622 of the act states that

1:57:18 municipalities are entitled to 5% of

1:57:20 gross revenues derived from the

1:57:22 operation of the cable system aka the

1:57:24 cable subscription fee for the provision

1:57:26 of community cable services such as

1:57:29 public educational and government access

1:57:31 TV channels and media education. This

1:57:34 act also provides for an annual capital

1:57:36 investment in the cable operation of the

1:57:37 town community media center. The town of

1:57:39 Brooklyn has for many years passed

1:57:42 through just 2% of that 5% to support

1:57:44 bigs operations. Because the act dates

1:57:46 back to 1984, it did not include revenue

1:57:49 from streaming services or internet

1:57:51 service only cable TV subscriptions.

1:57:54 Because of this, gross revenues and sub

1:57:56 subsequently the pass through have been

1:57:58 in decline. Cord cutting is a term used

1:58:01 by cable companies, but it's a misnomer

1:58:03 because it's actually the same cord that

1:58:05 brings internet and streaming services

1:58:06 into homes, and that cord still uses the

1:58:08 public right of way.

1:58:10 RCN has a much smaller share of cable

1:58:13 subscribers in Brooklyn. However, they

1:58:14 still support two cable channels in

1:58:16 Brooklyn local programming. These

1:58:18 channels run seven days a week, 24 hours

1:58:20 a day, bringing Brookline residents

1:58:21 local information and community created

1:58:23 programming. They are very responsive

1:58:25 partners in those channels and have a

1:58:27 significant enough market in Brooklyn

1:58:29 that many of our members and viewers are

1:58:30 RCN customers. As with Comcast, they pay

1:58:34 a quarterly franchise fee based on a

1:58:36 snapshot of cable subscriptions. As an

1:58:38 example, Big's latest payment from RCN

1:58:41 was $9,26.87,

1:58:44 which covers the second quarter of 2026.

1:58:46 This fee has been getting smaller due to

1:58:48 the decline in cable subscriptions. To

1:58:50 illustrate this, the payment in August

1:58:52 2025 was $10,6768.

1:58:56 This represents a decrease of over 15%.

1:58:59 As BIG continues to work towards a more

1:59:01 diverse revenue mix, we value the

1:59:03 existence of RCN in the Brooklyn

1:59:04 community, not just because they're good

1:59:06 technical stewards. They're very

1:59:08 vigilant at keeping our cable channels

1:59:10 up and running, but because at this

1:59:12 stage for us, every penny counts. We

1:59:14 fear the loss of RCN would mean a loss

1:59:17 of all those cable customers as folks

1:59:19 would choose to forgo cable rather than

1:59:21 go to Comcast. We also know what a

1:59:23 monopoly can create a very different

1:59:25 dynamic and in this case we feel a

1:59:27 little competition is healthy for

1:59:29 everyone. Thank you.

1:59:33 Thank you. And our next speaker

1:59:35 we have online Kathy Sman.

1:59:38 All right. Go ahead whenever you're

1:59:39 ready.

1:59:45 One second to promote her.

2:00:00 Hi, thank you for taking my comments.

2:00:03 Um,

2:00:04 my name is Kathy Seidman. I'm a town

2:00:06 meeting member in precinct 2. I serve on

2:00:08 the Brooklyn Commission for the Arts and

2:00:10 a board member of Brooklyn for Everyone.

2:00:13 I'm also an RCN customer, but tonight I

2:00:15 speak only for myself. I want to be sure

2:00:19 everyone in Brooklyn recognizes the

2:00:21 incredible value BIG provides our

2:00:23 community. BIG supports teaching

2:00:25 valuable broadcast and journalism skills

2:00:27 to our high school students. BIG

2:00:29 archives all the recordings of town

2:00:31 boards and commissions that many of us

2:00:33 used to find out what happened in one

2:00:36 committee when we attended another. BIG

2:00:38 is available to record town events and

2:00:41 ceremonies. There are live broadcasting

2:00:44 this meeting as we speak and they make

2:00:47 town meeting accessible by providing a

2:00:49 live broadcast as well as the technical

2:00:51 support for a hybrid town meeting

2:00:53 format. Besides all of that, they

2:00:56 provide those services at a cost far

2:00:58 below commercial production rates. But

2:01:01 most importantly, without big,

2:01:03 Brookline's complicated and fairly

2:01:04 opaque governance structure would be

2:01:07 much harder for those who work full-time

2:01:09 or have small children or simply can't

2:01:11 attend all the various boards and

2:01:13 commission meetings we have every week.

2:01:16 To get a sense of how much value BIG

2:01:18 provides Brookline's town meeting

2:01:19 specifically, I suggest you watch the

2:01:22 video I put in my submitted comments.

2:01:24 It's under four minutes. It's a video

2:01:26 created by big interns about all the

2:01:29 effort required to produce town meeting.

2:01:32 I urge you to do whatever it takes to be

2:01:34 to make sure BIG has continued funding

2:01:37 to do the work we expect it to perform.

2:01:40 Thank you.

2:01:43 Thank you. Would anyone in the room like

2:01:46 to be heard for the cable ascertainment

2:01:48 hearing?

2:01:51 Seeing none, anyone online?

2:01:53 Jonathan Golden has his hand raised.

2:01:55 All right, go right ahead, Jonathan.

2:02:07 Great. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank

2:02:09 you for the opportunity to speak at this

2:02:10 hearing. Jonathan Golden, town meeting

2:02:12 member, precinct 17. I largely come

2:02:15 online to echo what Jessica and Katha

2:02:17 have just shared. Big I see is

2:02:20 indispensable to our community and to

2:02:22 our democracy, the way which it brings

2:02:24 transparency and accessibility to our

2:02:26 form of government. I the privilege to

2:02:28 be a board member of BIG in the past and

2:02:31 know well all the financial challenges

2:02:33 that Jessica described. I'm glad to hear

2:02:35 that she mentioned examples of

2:02:37 partnership with RCN. It's good that

2:02:39 that is happening as well. And it's that

2:02:41 spirit of cooperation is why I feel

2:02:42 compelled to speak to see how can we

2:02:45 work together to to help big meet the

2:02:48 structural challenges that have been

2:02:49 ongoing now for many years given the

2:02:51 dynamics described about the cable

2:02:53 industry. There must be ways that we can

2:02:55 work together to help and support uh big

2:02:59 so they can continue to support our

2:03:01 community with the wonderful broadcast

2:03:02 and community work that it does. So I'll

2:03:05 leave your remarks there. Thank you for

2:03:06 your consideration and your time.

2:03:09 Thank you. Anyone else?

2:03:14 No one.

2:03:15 Seeing none, I will close the public

2:03:18 hearing.

2:03:20 What will be our next steps on this?

2:03:22 Charlie, you want to talk a little bit

2:03:23 about the next steps here?

2:03:26 Absolutely. So, thank you to the board

2:03:28 for holding this public hearing. Thank

2:03:30 you to our speakers who came out to talk

2:03:32 about the town's cable needs. Um, we are

2:03:35 starting our renewal process for our RCN

2:03:39 cable license or rather for RCN's cable

2:03:42 license, which expires in April 2028.

2:03:44 So, we're a little ahead of the game.

2:03:46 Um, and we're doing this with we're

2:03:48 starting with the ascertainment hearing

2:03:50 because it's legally required, but also

2:03:51 because it helps inform those

2:03:53 negotiations. Um, and so town staff will

2:03:57 be looking to meet with RCN, with our

2:03:59 our representative, David von Mortz, who

2:04:01 couldn't be here tonight. We're going to

2:04:02 provide the recording of this hearing

2:04:04 and tell them uh all the great comments

2:04:06 we heard about Brookline Interactive and

2:04:08 how important it is that the license

2:04:09 continue to support them. Um and at some

2:04:12 point we'll be back uh for another

2:04:15 hearing and uh to look at hopefully a uh

2:04:19 a license uh a renewal license uh for

2:04:22 the board to consider. That's the that

2:04:23 is the end goal.

2:04:26 All right. Thank you. So with that we

2:04:28 Thank you. So with that, we will now

2:04:30 move to our next agenda item, warrant

2:04:32 articles, public hearings. Uh we are not

2:04:36 going to be addressing article 7

2:04:38 tonight. We will pick that up at a

2:04:40 subsequent select board meeting. So that

2:04:43 will bring us to article 8, prohibit

2:04:46 public meetings on election day.

2:04:47 Bernard, you have a question.

2:04:48 Yeah, I understand that also article 17

2:04:52 will not be taken up.

2:04:54 That's correct. Article 17 and 18 will

2:04:56 not be taken up today either. uh for

2:04:59 various reasons including that the

2:05:00 petitioners are not available.

2:05:04 Go ahead, Janice.

2:05:08 Thank you very much um to the select

2:05:12 board for holding this public hearing. I

2:05:14 am Janice Khan, town member from

2:05:16 precinct 15 and a member of the advisory

2:05:19 committee. I'm also a former president

2:05:21 of the League of Women Voters of

2:05:22 Brooklyn.

2:05:24 Warrant article 8 very simply codifies

2:05:26 in our general bylaws that boards,

2:05:29 commissions, and committees subject to

2:05:31 the public the open meeting law are

2:05:33 prohibited from holding meetings on

2:05:35 federal, state, and local election days.

2:05:38 There are two exceptions, one for

2:05:40 emergencies and a second for bodies that

2:05:43 need to meet um for the administration

2:05:46 of elections.

2:05:48 So why this article and why now? Four

2:05:51 weeks ago, Ben Kaufman, Brooklyn's

2:05:54 elected town clerk, came before this

2:05:56 board during the public comment period

2:05:58 to speak on behalf of the voters of

2:06:00 Brooklyn to object to the select board's

2:06:03 decision to hold their regular public

2:06:05 meeting on September 1st, the day of the

2:06:08 Massachusetts primary election and

2:06:10 during hours when the polls were still

2:06:12 open. The select board after some

2:06:14 consideration and additional push back

2:06:16 from members of the community were able

2:06:19 to move their meeting eliminating the

2:06:21 conflict. So much gratitude for that.

2:06:24 But it raised a concern that in the five

2:06:26 decades that I have called Brookline my

2:06:29 home, it's something I never even

2:06:32 considered was an issue. We all continue

2:06:35 to watch with increasing concern norms

2:06:38 being broken at the federal level,

2:06:41 particularly those threatening our

2:06:42 national elections. In this moment, it

2:06:46 is with some urgency that I feel we need

2:06:49 to pass legislation to codify

2:06:52 Brookline's norm of not holding public

2:06:54 meetings on election days and to affirm

2:06:57 Brookline's commitment to support the

2:06:59 rights of voters and others who wish to

2:07:01 engage in the electoral process. So I

2:07:03 thank you for hearing this article.

2:07:07 All right. So let us let's open the

2:07:10 public hearing for article 8. Would any

2:07:14 members of the public like to speak on

2:07:16 warrant article 8.

2:07:18 Again if you're online you can use the

2:07:20 hand raise feature.

2:07:27 All right seeing none we will close the

2:07:29 public hearing on warrant article 8.

2:07:31 Now, how about discussion amongst

2:07:32 ourselves here? Any select board members

2:07:34 have thoughts?

2:07:36 Bernard?

2:07:37 Um,

2:07:39 I I I would urge voting no action on

2:07:41 this. I

2:07:43 no one actually was inconvenienced.

2:07:46 The few people who attend our meeting um

2:07:50 for unlikely inconvenience. Um it was a

2:07:55 period between 5:30 or actually 6:30

2:07:58 since we had a executive session and 8

2:08:00 talk when there was an overlap of of the

2:08:04 voting and um our meeting.

2:08:08 I mean, I I'm a little concerned about

2:08:10 some of the language that, you know,

2:08:13 we're being associated or or compared to

2:08:15 the breaking of norms at the federal

2:08:18 level. I mean, that's just not what's

2:08:20 going on here. Um, so I'm I'm just

2:08:23 uncomfortable with the with the sort of

2:08:25 tone of of of this warrant article uh

2:08:28 given that u the the actual injury was

2:08:32 very minor if if at all.

2:08:37 Michael.

2:08:37 Um I would act

2:08:41 I'm a little bit torn um because on the

2:08:44 one hand I actually um agree with the

2:08:48 petitioner in some cases that the

2:08:49 codification of norms actually helps our

2:08:52 governance move forward. Um and I'm I I

2:08:57 would hesitate to decide a priority

2:09:01 which norms should be codified and which

2:09:03 ones shouldn't um as they get

2:09:05 identified. Um I think it is it is a

2:09:08 reasonable question to ask as to whether

2:09:10 or not they should be they should be

2:09:13 codified through legislation or policy

2:09:16 or or um practice. Um

2:09:22 that said, um I'm also curious um

2:09:26 whether or not uh the petitioner has

2:09:30 identified uh is this she said that um

2:09:34 this has not been a concern over 50

2:09:37 years. Um I'm wondering has this ever

2:09:40 been a concern is she aware of in other

2:09:43 Massachusetts uh municipalities? Um, is

2:09:47 this a one is this a one-off response to

2:09:51 a particular

2:09:52 uh scheduling event that occurred

2:09:55 roughly four weeks ago? Um, or is there

2:09:58 is there any sort of broader context in

2:10:01 which this is this is substantial?

2:10:07 I'd like to respond. So, um, so I would

2:10:11 say that, um, with many years of

2:10:13 experience writing and voting on bylaws,

2:10:17 general and zoning bylaws, it's my

2:10:19 experience that we do this in relation

2:10:22 to something that has happened. You

2:10:24 know, we are not preient, right? There's

2:10:26 an issue that arises that we maybe never

2:10:29 thought of. We create bylaws, general

2:10:32 bylaws, and we create zoning bylaws in

2:10:34 order to make our our government, I

2:10:38 think, more sensitive and more um

2:10:41 responsive to our local culture, um

2:10:46 things that are important to Brookline.

2:10:48 And I would say that um this is not

2:10:51 really a condemnation of this board and

2:10:54 this decision. It's really that it it

2:10:57 raised an issue that I hadn't thought

2:10:59 about that maybe it's a good idea for us

2:11:02 as a very forwardthinking community to

2:11:04 take this action and um whether other

2:11:07 communities do it that is related to

2:11:10 their own priorities, their own thoughts

2:11:13 about their their communities. But I

2:11:16 think for Brooklyn, this is one where we

2:11:18 have an enormous amount of of public

2:11:21 participation in our government, whether

2:11:23 it's volunteering for boards or um or

2:11:26 running for office. I mean, this is a

2:11:29 very active community. And I think that

2:11:32 that passing this legislation would just

2:11:34 honor the community that we have. And um

2:11:38 so I this is not meant to be a personal

2:11:40 attack. It's just the way our laws

2:11:43 emerge in Brooklyn. It tends to be

2:11:45 something happens and then we have a

2:11:47 response and we take action.

2:11:52 Maybe something just to add to that is

2:11:54 that the secretary of state has said

2:11:55 that there are some some bodies that are

2:11:58 not allowed to meet on election day by

2:12:00 law. Um and those are um uh public

2:12:03 hearings for held under zoning acts. Um

2:12:06 so boards of appeal, zoning board of

2:12:08 appeals, planning boards, etc.

2:12:10 Those may not be held on election day.

2:12:12 And then there's a state there's some

2:12:14 state bodies that can't meet on election

2:12:15 day, too. Um, the Secretary of State's

2:12:18 office recommends that communities not

2:12:20 hold meetings on election day. Um, but

2:12:22 there's no state order. And I know some

2:12:24 communities have codified that into

2:12:27 official law and some communities have

2:12:28 not. But in general, it is good practice

2:12:31 in the absence of, you know, a pressing

2:12:33 need. And in this case, I know you, you

2:12:36 know, this is this is something that

2:12:37 just comes up. But you know I think in

2:12:38 this instance

2:12:39 there was this question of what norms

2:12:42 what norms do we

2:12:44 when there's a conflict between norms

2:12:45 what do we follow um and so I think it's

2:12:47 a good opportunity to have this

2:12:49 conversation because one of the norms

2:12:50 that you follow is the select board

2:12:52 meets on Tuesdays Tuesday nights it's a

2:12:54 presumption of regularity people come to

2:12:56 expect it when we moved this meeting to

2:12:59 Monday Bernard pointed out you don't

2:13:01 often have a vast audience you know

2:13:04 concurrently a lot of people watch the

2:13:05 meetings more people watch the meetings

2:13:06 after the act. Um but it's not always

2:13:09 easy to see, you know, who's watching,

2:13:10 you know, concurrently on um big

2:13:13 streaming, for example, either on cable

2:13:14 or over um YouTube. Um so the total

2:13:18 number of people we think watch these

2:13:20 meetings can vary, but we do know that

2:13:22 it dipped pretty significantly when we

2:13:24 held that meeting on Monday. Um and uh

2:13:27 again, not to cast dispersions, but none

2:13:29 of the people that I saw raise

2:13:30 complaints about it came to that

2:13:32 meeting. Um, so it wasn't a matter of,

2:13:35 you know, it it it it was I I understand

2:13:38 what the norm is and I I want to be

2:13:40 clear that I value that norm. I don't

2:13:42 think we should ordinarily be meeting on

2:13:44 election days. But I also wonder whether

2:13:48 it is necessary to prohibit the meeting

2:13:50 on election days. And I think one of the

2:13:51 things that the petition does, the

2:13:53 Warren article does that is wise is it

2:13:55 exempts, you know, true, you know,

2:13:57 emergencies under the open meeting uh

2:13:59 law, which I think is smart. Um and

2:14:01 maybe that's maybe that's sufficient for

2:14:03 your purposes in terms of balancing. Um

2:14:05 but yeah, I think that question is how

2:14:08 do you how do you deal with those

2:14:09 competing norms which is there is an

2:14:10 expectation among the people who come to

2:14:12 this board regularly that it be held on

2:14:14 Tuesday nights. Um and when it deviates

2:14:17 from that there is a dip in attendance

2:14:19 versus the concern that you want to give

2:14:22 people the opportunity to vote. So it's

2:14:24 just a balance it's a balancing

2:14:25 question. Amanda,

2:14:27 I just wanted to ask uh and I don't know

2:14:30 if anyone knows this, but uh I know this

2:14:33 is the the first meeting that the

2:14:36 petitioner is aware of, but that doesn't

2:14:38 necessarily mean that there haven't been

2:14:40 election day meetings in our past. Um

2:14:43 I'm aware of at least two that have

2:14:44 happened on election days prior to that

2:14:46 scheduled meeting. um of both cases. I

2:14:49 believe it was on um um I'll get I'll

2:14:53 get the exact dates, but yes, we have we

2:14:54 we went to the archives and we found at

2:14:57 least two in recent memory um that were

2:14:59 held um

2:15:02 uh on an election day. And I know that

2:15:04 other boards and committees do tend to

2:15:06 hold their meetings on, you know, not

2:15:09 all of them, but boards and committees

2:15:10 that meet during the day on Tuesdays

2:15:12 will sometimes still hold their meetings

2:15:14 on an election day. So, it's not just

2:15:15 the select board that uses that. There

2:15:17 are other boards of committees that do

2:15:19 so. It's just not as not as many. Um, in

2:15:21 general, I think people try and honor

2:15:23 that request that we try not to meet on

2:15:25 election day when we can avoid it.

2:15:28 Was uh was there a reason for those uh

2:15:31 select board meetings to be held on that

2:15:34 day, for example, emergency or

2:15:36 there was no emergency there was no

2:15:37 formal declaration of the need for an

2:15:39 emergency meeting. We can pull the

2:15:40 agendas and figure out why. Um, but in

2:15:43 those both of those instances, they

2:15:45 passed without incident. No one no one

2:15:47 raised I looked at the minutes, no one

2:15:48 raised an objection.

2:15:51 Well, I agree with uh Bernard. I'm with

2:15:54 respect to a little bit of skepticism as

2:15:57 to how many people are genuinely

2:15:59 impacted in terms of an hour and a half

2:16:02 overlap. Nevertheless, uh it can

2:16:05 inconvenience some people. And

2:16:06 specifically, there was an email I

2:16:08 received from town meeting member Cat

2:16:10 Anderson about pole workers. And pole

2:16:14 workers more often than not tend to be

2:16:16 very engaged in local government. Uh I

2:16:20 know four personally who are definitely

2:16:22 very engaged. And for those four at

2:16:24 least, and there probably more, if

2:16:26 they're assigned to work the polls from

2:16:29 open to close, then they are forced to

2:16:32 make a decision. do we participate in

2:16:35 the uh municipal government meeting or

2:16:38 do we work the polls? And so for that

2:16:40 for for that it's a small group but it

2:16:42 is a group. We're inconveniencing them

2:16:44 at a minimum and beyond that we know

2:16:48 years in advance in some instances

2:16:50 depending on the election what election

2:16:51 day will be and so it shouldn't be too

2:16:54 difficult for us to work around that

2:16:56 when we are scheduling our meetings and

2:16:59 when other bodies are scheduling their

2:17:01 meetings. So from a policy perspective,

2:17:05 uh I think that this Warren article is

2:17:07 reasonable. There's plenty of time to

2:17:10 plan around it and that way we're not

2:17:12 inconveniencing anyone. One slight worry

2:17:15 I have is I would like to see election

2:17:18 day defined a little more clearly. I'm

2:17:21 pretty sure I know what you mean. You're

2:17:22 referring to the main day that people go

2:17:24 and vote, but in this era of early

2:17:26 voting, there are actually multiple

2:17:28 election days now. And that could become

2:17:30 a little bit problematic because we

2:17:32 don't know if in the future there will

2:17:33 actually be eight election days per

2:17:36 cycle and that could be trickier if we

2:17:38 can't meet on any election day including

2:17:40 early voting days. So if that could be

2:17:43 clarified I think that would be helpful.

2:17:45 Okay. Thank you very much. Um

2:17:48 Bernard um yeah we we can plan our

2:17:53 meetings far in advance to avoid any

2:17:56 problem because At

2:17:58 least since I've been when I was chair,

2:18:01 we started meeting not every uh Tuesday

2:18:04 but uh uh three or or mostly three

2:18:08 Tuesdays per month. So we can plan

2:18:10 ahead. My my concern is just the idea

2:18:13 that you know as was said this is voter

2:18:17 suppression that you know it's violating

2:18:19 some norms like at the federal level. I

2:18:22 I just hope we we're not,

2:18:26 you know, using this as sort of a cudel

2:18:28 against the select board in some way.

2:18:30 But yes, we can plan around it around

2:18:33 it. And I don't think there's a need for

2:18:35 a warrant article to do that. Just, you

2:18:37 know, an appreciation by the select

2:18:38 board that uh we plan around election

2:18:42 days as we see them coming up.

2:18:46 That's my opinion. Amanda,

2:18:48 I just wanted to add one point to the

2:18:51 competing disenfranchisement argument I

2:18:54 guess that Chaz was making. Um, and that

2:18:57 if we do move our our meetings, I

2:18:59 actually ran into the problem when we

2:19:02 had our Monday meeting before election

2:19:03 day that a poll worker reached out while

2:19:05 I was in the select board meeting and I

2:19:06 didn't get to it until too late to

2:19:08 address his concern where he was trying

2:19:10 to figure out how he was going to access

2:19:12 the polls in the morning. um and he had

2:19:16 no concept that we would be meeting on a

2:19:19 Monday night. Um and so I do think there

2:19:22 is

2:19:24 there is always an unintended

2:19:27 consequence. Um and I am a little bit

2:19:30 concerned. I I'm kind of splitting the

2:19:33 case. I I do think that as a general

2:19:35 policy, we should not meet on election

2:19:37 days. Um and our our boards and

2:19:39 commissions, except for emergencies,

2:19:41 probably should not either.

2:19:44 Um, but I I do think it's a much more

2:19:48 complicated answer and I kind of wish

2:19:51 that this current Warren article maybe

2:19:54 turned down a few of the whereas clauses

2:19:57 um to make it more clear that this was

2:19:59 trying to codify a a norm to make

2:20:03 clearer expectations and less of a

2:20:06 fingerpointing exercise for lack of a

2:20:08 better term.

2:20:12 Um, so the may I respond? So the law

2:20:16 itself is really simple and doesn't have

2:20:18 any of the nuances that that people have

2:20:20 been raising concerns about. That's in

2:20:22 the explanation. The law is really

2:20:25 really quite simple that no meeting of

2:20:27 any board, committee or commission in

2:20:29 the town subject to the open meeting law

2:20:30 shall be held on any day in which a

2:20:32 state or municipal election or primary

2:20:35 is held. And I I take the chair's

2:20:38 clarification point. um

2:20:41 in in mine and then it se the other

2:20:44 section just has the exemptions. So

2:20:46 there's no there's no um nuanced

2:20:51 about that. You know, there's no um you

2:20:54 know, I think it's the formal election

2:20:56 day when people actually go to the polls

2:20:58 is what this is is talking about. And I

2:21:01 think that's pretty clear,

2:21:04 Bernard. And that includes special

2:21:06 elections. for example, if we were to

2:21:07 have a override election in July.

2:21:12 True.

2:21:13 Okay.

2:21:14 We want people to participate freely in

2:21:16 in the process. Yeah. So, as I was

2:21:19 suggesting before, I would be a bit more

2:21:21 comfortable if this clearly spelled out

2:21:24 that we're not referring to early voting

2:21:26 because early voting

2:21:28 can be over multiple days and that

2:21:30 really could create a logistical crunch

2:21:33 for any board if suddenly early voting

2:21:36 counts as an election day. So, I'd

2:21:38 rather not have any ambiguity.

2:21:40 I will I will have a conversation with

2:21:42 the town clerk and and work on

2:21:46 clarifying that. Thank you. Thank you.

2:21:50 All right. So, uh with that we will move

2:21:53 to our next agenda item

2:21:56 which is the memorandum of agreement

2:21:58 with win companies.

2:22:15 Good evening. I'm Amy Uaz. I'm the

2:22:19 housing and community planning director

2:22:20 in the department of planning and

2:22:22 community development.

2:22:24 And I'm here because at the last select

2:22:27 board meeting on September 15th, um the

2:22:30 board allocated up to $4 million for the

2:22:34 project at 99 Kent Street to

2:22:36 substantially re rehabilitate that

2:22:38 property and extend the affordability

2:22:40 restrictions for 99 years. The condition

2:22:43 of that approval was approval of the MOA

2:22:46 between wind companies and the town. Um

2:22:49 that MOA outlines the town's support for

2:22:54 um the extension of an air rights lease

2:22:56 with the MBTA. It outlines the support

2:22:59 for um the use of excess parking at the

2:23:03 existing parking garage located between

2:23:05 99 Kent Street and uh Village at

2:23:07 Brookline. And it also outlines what

2:23:10 will happen um when the current

2:23:13 affordability restrictions at villages

2:23:15 at Brooklyn expire in 2024 and how wind

2:23:18 has wind companies has agreed to

2:23:21 actually it's a village at Brooklyn the

2:23:24 um has agreed to um extend that those

2:23:28 reapply for the affordability uh

2:23:30 restrictions available through a housing

2:23:34 um a HAP contract for the projectbased

2:23:36 vouchers that are there and what would

2:23:39 happen if that funding weren't

2:23:41 available, how the town would

2:23:43 participate kind of in a 50/50 split

2:23:46 with extending those affordability

2:23:47 restrictions. I have Michael Alperin

2:23:50 with me. He's been our consultant

2:23:52 working on this. He's with Terara Living

2:23:54 Partners and he's been invaluable to

2:23:56 this process. And I al also on Zoom is

2:24:00 um Lauren Camperryi who is the senior um

2:24:04 project director for the project at 99

2:24:07 Kent Street. So there's no need we we're

2:24:10 seeking approval tonight, but there's no

2:24:12 need for the MOA to be signed tonight.

2:24:15 Um but approval of the MOA will allow us

2:24:18 to through a letter probably from um the

2:24:20 town administrator to fully support Wind

2:24:23 company's application for funding for

2:24:26 from the executive office of housing

2:24:28 livable communities.

2:24:31 So we're happy to answer any questions

2:24:33 you have. Um

2:24:35 Michael is our expert. Michael,

2:24:38 I'm just wondering, we did discuss this

2:24:42 last week um and sort of went through it

2:24:44 extensively and don't necessarily feel

2:24:46 the need to to rehash that. I'm just

2:24:48 wondering between then and now, has

2:24:50 there been any either substantive change

2:24:52 to the MOA um or other consideration

2:24:56 that we should be made aware of

2:24:58 following that conversation?

2:25:00 Um, I think there there was a minor

2:25:02 change. Um, nothing nothing significant,

2:25:05 but we did want to reach agreement

2:25:06 between their legal counsel and ours

2:25:08 before we brought it back to you.

2:25:10 But I I thought that there were some not

2:25:14 major changes, but some changes that

2:25:16 needed to be made in order to make the

2:25:18 MOA uh complete. And you're saying that

2:25:22 those are just minor? I believe those

2:25:24 happened right before the last select

2:25:27 board meeting, but I'd have to go back

2:25:28 and look at the there have been many um

2:25:31 iterations of this. You may be correct.

2:25:33 I'd have to look at the timing because

2:25:35 there were some significant changes

2:25:37 right around the time of the select

2:25:39 board's last meeting.

2:25:40 Um but then after those you reviewed it

2:25:42 that at that time and we came to

2:25:44 resolution on those and then there were

2:25:45 just some a couple minor changes after

2:25:47 that point.

2:25:50 Sure. Go right ahead.

2:25:52 Thank you. Thank you.

2:25:53 Welcome back.

2:25:54 Thank you, Bernard. Sorry. Sorry. Um

2:25:56 again, last week for trying to do this

2:25:58 via Amtrak train for during the day

2:26:00 meeting time. Um so just to reiterate

2:26:03 what Amy just

2:26:04 I'm sorry. Could you I

2:26:06 I'm Michael Alrren. I am a consultant in

2:26:08 this capacity for Terara Living Partners

2:26:11 engaged by the town of Brooklyn. Um and

2:26:15 used to be the executive director of the

2:26:16 housing authority in Brooklyn and town

2:26:18 meeting member and many boards

2:26:20 throughout town. Um so um

2:26:25 when and the town agreed on all the

2:26:28 terms that town council proposed and

2:26:31 that Amy and I proposed as well. There

2:26:33 was a minor change since what was uh

2:26:36 agreed to the day of your meeting last

2:26:39 week, which was that the metropolitan

2:26:42 fair area market rent was changed to

2:26:44 small area fair market rent, which is

2:26:46 how the Brooklyn Housing Authority

2:26:48 currently calculates its voucher payment

2:26:50 standard. So that's the minor change and

2:26:53 I think you are absolutely right,

2:26:54 Bernard. There were substantive changes

2:26:56 that were asked for on behalf of the

2:26:58 town and town council. All of those were

2:27:00 accepted by Wyn and the owner.

2:27:05 Amanda,

2:27:05 I'm wondering if um just for the

2:27:08 purposes of folks who might not turn

2:27:10 have tuned in to our last meeting, if

2:27:12 someone could give a highle summary of

2:27:14 what the MOA protections are for the

2:27:17 village.

2:27:23 Um and War and Lauren can jump into if

2:27:25 there's any clarification the owner

2:27:27 wants to provide or developer. Um, any

2:27:30 tenants in good standing who are income

2:27:33 qualified at the village, who live in a

2:27:35 unit that is expiring use, which means

2:27:39 is subject to the 40T notice the town

2:27:42 received, um, will be held to rent

2:27:45 increases no more than 10% over the

2:27:48 coming years. Um, uh, or CPI plus three.

2:27:52 Um, and that is consistent with 40T and

2:27:56 above and beyond what's required by the

2:27:57 state statute. Um, most of the tenants

2:28:00 who are in good standing and income

2:28:02 qualified today also have a voucher. So,

2:28:05 they will be protected from any rent

2:28:07 increases that impact the tenants

2:28:09 themselves. There are two households

2:28:12 we've identified that are subject to

2:28:14 that agreement and in good standing and

2:28:16 qualified uh on an income basis. There's

2:28:20 then further protections if households

2:28:22 do income qualify that have not income

2:28:26 qualify to date and are in good

2:28:27 standing. Um and then there are

2:28:30 provisions about

2:28:33 the HAP units in 2044 that protect um 39

2:28:37 of the tenants that live at the property

2:28:39 today to have affordable rents at or

2:28:42 below 50% of area median income. the

2:28:45 owner will reapply for that HAP contract

2:28:47 to the housing authority on

2:28:49 substantially similar terms um no less

2:28:52 than 80 87% of the same economics um

2:28:56 that are in place today um on a

2:28:59 timeadjusted basis based on HUD's

2:29:01 published um rent schedules that's very

2:29:03 technical and sorry for saying that in a

2:29:05 bunch of jargon but basically tenants

2:29:07 will be insured if that HAP contract is

2:29:10 renewed their rent does not rise the

2:29:12 owner continues to receive revenues And

2:29:14 then as Amy described, if the owner is

2:29:17 unable to receive a HAP contract through

2:29:19 the Brooklyn Housing Authority on

2:29:21 similar economic terms, there's an

2:29:24 agreement between the owner and the town

2:29:26 to attempt to preserve affordability on

2:29:28 an ongoing basis in a 5050 share of the

2:29:32 costs of doing so relative to what the

2:29:34 rents are in other market units at the

2:29:37 property at that time.

2:29:39 Thank you.

2:29:40 No problem. Anyone else?

2:29:44 All right. With Oh, go ahead.

2:29:48 Somebody else.

2:29:48 Oh, that's fine. I was just gonna agree

2:29:50 with agree with Michael and say that

2:29:52 we're also, you know, committing to to

2:29:55 renovating um units that have reached

2:29:59 their end of their useful life as part

2:30:00 of the agreement as well.

2:30:02 All right. Thank you. So with that, I

2:30:05 will move approval of a memorandum of

2:30:07 agreement with wind companies related to

2:30:09 existing incomequalified tenants at 77

2:30:12 Village Way, support for Wind Company's

2:30:14 efforts in extending their air rights

2:30:16 lease with the MBTA for 99 years, and

2:30:18 support for the ability to rent excess

2:30:20 parking spaces in the existing parking

2:30:23 garage. Bernard,

2:30:24 yes.

2:30:24 Michael,

2:30:25 yes.

2:30:26 Amanda,

2:30:26 yes.

2:30:27 And I also vote yes.

2:30:30 All right. Thank you very much.

2:30:32 Thank you.

2:30:33 Thank you, Amy. Thank you, Michael.

2:30:34 Thank you to Lauren and the wind team,

2:30:36 uh, and to the whole planning team and,

2:30:38 um, town council's office. Um, we look

2:30:40 forward to sending that letter.

2:30:43 Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

2:30:44 Everyone, have a good night.

2:30:46 So, with that, we will move to our next

2:30:48 agenda item, which is update and

2:30:50 possible vote on revised boards and

2:30:53 committees handbook.

2:30:54 Yes. Thank you, and I apologize to the

2:30:56 board. We were working on this up until

2:30:57 the 11th hour, so I don't think it's

2:30:59 wise to take a vote until you've had the

2:31:00 opportunity to review the most recent

2:31:02 red line. Um but I did want to flag that

2:31:04 it is in the packet. Um it and the most

2:31:07 substantive change based on the

2:31:09 conversation that we had last week was

2:31:11 to the um code of conduct section. Um

2:31:14 that section as Michael suggested now

2:31:15 doesn't have that box around it. So it's

2:31:17 it makes clear that it applies solely to

2:31:19 boards and committees appointed by the

2:31:20 select board. Um and it changes the

2:31:22 format. Um previously I just think

2:31:24 because it's been revised so many times

2:31:26 over the over the revisions and as many

2:31:28 hands have touched it, it just kind of

2:31:29 developed a sort of life of its own

2:31:31 where bullets said the same thing in

2:31:33 different ways and so forth. And so we

2:31:35 consolidated it so that it tries to be

2:31:37 very clear and concise about the here's,

2:31:39 you know, here's what a board and

2:31:41 committee member does. They're they are,

2:31:43 you know, almost to a person volunteers.

2:31:46 They need their time and expertise

2:31:47 should be respected. Here's what is

2:31:49 expected of them. Here's what they what

2:31:52 they should be doing. Here's what they

2:31:53 should not be doing. And then at the

2:31:55 end, there's language um that I think

2:31:57 resolves the issues that you were

2:31:58 discussing regarding what happens after

2:32:00 a vote is taken. um whether or not an

2:32:03 individual, you know, how an individual

2:32:05 can continue to express disagreement

2:32:06 with the with the position if they are

2:32:09 on the losing side without actively

2:32:11 sabotaging the implementation of that

2:32:13 decision from a public policy

2:32:15 perspective. So, um using your language,

2:32:17 David, I think we kind of thread that

2:32:20 needle. The other big substantive change

2:32:22 that's in there as opposed to stylistic

2:32:24 is the one we talked about about

2:32:26 boarding committee members doing uh

2:32:27 independent research, reaching out to

2:32:29 third parties, other municipalities,

2:32:31 contractors. And the proposed solution

2:32:33 there is that the if a board or

2:32:35 committee member wants to do that kind

2:32:36 of work that they first speak to the

2:32:38 assigned staff person and ask that

2:32:40 person to do that outreach and only then

2:32:43 if they don't get what they want or if

2:32:45 they don't get a response or so be you

2:32:46 know whatever there's at least a record

2:32:48 that they reached out to the staff

2:32:50 person and said hey I would like to do

2:32:51 this can you help me or you know can I

2:32:54 can you arrange this contact so that

2:32:56 there is a point a connection somewhere

2:32:58 and staff know that that contact is

2:33:01 taking place But it doesn't prevent it

2:33:02 from happening. It just tries to make it

2:33:04 so that in the first instance there's a

2:33:06 clear line of communication in terms of

2:33:08 you know who is who is the interlocator

2:33:11 for the town in this regard. So um

2:33:14 preserves the ability to do it makes

2:33:16 sure that in the instances that were

2:33:17 concern people were concerned about

2:33:19 where either they didn't people don't

2:33:22 get back to them or what have you

2:33:23 there's still the opportunity to do

2:33:24 that. But at the very least it creates a

2:33:27 paper trail that the board member says

2:33:29 hey I would like to do this. Is that

2:33:31 okay? Um, and then there's no um there's

2:33:34 no concern that board members are are

2:33:36 are freelancing, right? You know, are

2:33:38 are purporting to represent the

2:33:40 authority that they don't have when

2:33:42 speaking on the town's or trying to

2:33:43 speak on the town's behalf.

2:33:47 One one comment in the code of conduct

2:33:50 section. Um,

2:33:52 right now we have the line that says

2:33:54 members must not hold themselves out as

2:33:56 having authority to negotiate or enter

2:33:58 into agreements on the town's behalf.

2:34:00 Um, I think we were proposing something

2:34:03 more like proactively stating that they

2:34:06 do not have the ability. Um, so that

2:34:09 even if they do not present themselves

2:34:11 as having negotiating authority, it is

2:34:14 not presumed by a third party that does

2:34:16 not understand the inner workings of

2:34:18 town governance. I agree with Amanda. I

2:34:20 think part of that discussion was we

2:34:22 discussed maybe having a mandatory uh

2:34:25 disclosure in writing that needs to

2:34:28 accompany any outreach that is direct so

2:34:31 that it's very clear. I think that the

2:34:34 current language where it's just

2:34:36 contacting a staff member that might not

2:34:38 be sufficient because that doesn't

2:34:41 necessarily prevent the member from then

2:34:43 subsequently having a conversation that

2:34:45 could be misconstrued even if that's not

2:34:47 the intention.

2:34:48 But if there's a written disclaimer that

2:34:51 goes along with any such communication

2:34:52 then it's abundantly clear.

2:34:54 We can make that clear. Yeah,

2:34:56 absolutely.

2:34:58 Um, I haven't because of the the the

2:35:01 late hour I haven't had any opportunity

2:35:04 to review it. So, I'm going to just

2:35:06 reserve the right to do so,

2:35:08 of course.

2:35:08 Um, but I I had one sort of larger

2:35:12 question. The town currently has, and

2:35:15 it's accessible from the select board's

2:35:18 uh web page, a Town of Brookline code of

2:35:21 conduct.

2:35:21 Yes. that applies both to employees and

2:35:26 to members of public bodies. And so I

2:35:30 just I'm wondering whether um

2:35:35 whether this should in in any form

2:35:39 either supersede that or

2:35:43 uh the code of conduct should be an

2:35:44 employee code of conduct and then the

2:35:46 the um public bodies is handled

2:35:50 independently um or how how they sort of

2:35:53 cross reference each other.

2:35:55 It's a great question. the so the code

2:35:57 of conduct that was initially passed by

2:35:58 the board in December of 2022, right?

2:36:01 Um was passed

2:36:04 as as I understand and this is right

2:36:06 when I first arrived in town. It was one

2:36:08 of the earliest projects that I

2:36:10 took on and I what I was realized at

2:36:13 that time was in the board's passage of

2:36:15 that code of conduct. It was never the

2:36:17 board did not express a clear intent

2:36:20 that it be a mandatory document. It was

2:36:22 basically sort of a set of community

2:36:24 guidelines because it was it was meant

2:36:27 to provide guidance both to people that

2:36:29 the board had jurisdiction over and

2:36:31 people the board did not have

2:36:32 jurisdiction over. So when issues

2:36:35 started to arise about members of the

2:36:37 what happens if a member of the public

2:36:39 violates the code of conduct position we

2:36:41 took with those members of the public

2:36:43 was this is an opportunity for

2:36:45 education. We can send you a copy of the

2:36:47 code of conduct. Please you know we

2:36:49 encourage everyone to follow it. When it

2:36:50 came to employees, there was the

2:36:53 argument that was made. Certainly, we

2:36:54 didn't collectively bargain it, so it

2:36:56 didn't apply to the unions. And then

2:36:58 non-UN employees raised the issue, well,

2:37:00 if it doesn't apply to union employees,

2:37:01 why should it apply to us? Um, with

2:37:04 mandatory force. And so, ultimately,

2:37:06 that code of conduct has been viewed as

2:37:09 um a state a statement of goals or

2:37:12 statement of policy, but not as an

2:37:14 enforcable code of conduct with regard

2:37:16 to employees or members of the public.

2:37:19 Okay. And so I do think it is worth in

2:37:21 this instance what you are creating is

2:37:23 an enforcable code of conduct for boards

2:37:25 and committee members. So I think there

2:37:27 is because you say in this um handbook

2:37:30 failure to follow the guidance of this

2:37:32 handbook can results in you know you

2:37:34 being not reappointed or asked to to

2:37:36 step down. Um, so I do think there is a

2:37:39 difference between this document and

2:37:41 that document and I think it's worth

2:37:43 revisiting that code of conduct in a

2:37:45 broader context especially since we are

2:37:47 now going coming up on a new cycle of

2:37:49 negotiations with our main unions.

2:37:52 Um, you in your explanation said members

2:37:56 of the public and I'm just want a

2:37:59 clarification. Did you mean members of

2:38:01 the general public or members of public

2:38:04 bodies?

2:38:05 All all of the above. you know, someone

2:38:07 comes into a public building yelling and

2:38:09 screaming, calling someone names. You

2:38:12 know, we were, you know, we've we've had

2:38:14 some success actually in, you know,

2:38:15 calming people down, talking through and

2:38:17 say, "Hey, look, on the wall on every

2:38:19 floor of town hall is this code of

2:38:21 conduct says you're going to treat we're

2:38:22 going to treat you with respect. You

2:38:24 treat us with respect. Can you please

2:38:25 stop shouting and tell us what it is

2:38:27 that we can how we can help you?" Um,

2:38:29 and you know, so that we we do try and

2:38:32 deploy that code of conduct broadly. say

2:38:35 this is kind of the compact we're trying

2:38:37 to make with the public. You know, we

2:38:38 make these commitments to you, you make

2:38:39 these commitments to us. Um, but it's

2:38:41 not enforceable. You know, it's not

2:38:43 something that we can discipline

2:38:44 somebody over. Um, and it is not

2:38:46 something that we can use in the

2:38:49 abstract to say, you know, to a border

2:38:50 committee member, hey, you know, I have

2:38:52 definitely said to some boarding

2:38:54 committee members, hey, listen, here's a

2:38:55 copy of the code of conduct. Do you

2:38:57 think that your behavior is following

2:38:58 this code of conduct? Um, but I haven't

2:39:00 I have no authority to discipline them

2:39:02 over it.

2:39:03 Right. I'm I'm just the thing I'm

2:39:06 concerned about is is the confusion of

2:39:08 language. If you use code of conduct in

2:39:11 an enforceable sense within the handbook

2:39:13 and not in an enforceable sense in the

2:39:16 broader then then maybe we should not

2:39:20 use the same language to mean two

2:39:22 different things in two different cases.

2:39:23 I can think of a different term for this

2:39:26 this set of enforceable guidance.

2:39:28 Yes, I think that's the right choice.

2:39:32 Anyone

2:39:33 else?

2:39:36 All right. So, it seems that

2:39:38 I question in the um actually in this

2:39:41 version that you sent around today,

2:39:43 there's some language that is in boxes

2:39:45 and I thought that that related to um

2:39:49 those things that don't apply to select

2:39:51 board appointed uh public bodies. Is

2:39:54 there a reason why we can't take that

2:39:56 out? And because it's very um it

2:40:00 clutters up the the handbook.

2:40:01 Let me take you let us take a look at

2:40:03 that. You know, we we we were trying to

2:40:05 because because the document is helpful

2:40:08 to bodies that are not select board

2:40:10 appointed, it can be helpful to

2:40:11 highlight to them like, hey, here are

2:40:12 the sections that we think might apply

2:40:14 to your operations. Um, but if you think

2:40:17 that's if if you as a board think that's

2:40:19 cluttering, we're happy to, you know,

2:40:21 dispense with that that formatting

2:40:22 or or there may be a clearer way to

2:40:25 present that

2:40:26 than a than a box.

2:40:28 Yeah.

2:40:28 Yeah. You might even just be able to

2:40:29 have a cover sheet that says 3.1, 3.6,

2:40:33 whatever it is applies to all bodies.

2:40:36 Um, regardless of whether

2:40:38 I think sometimes, as you can see, it's

2:40:39 like, you know, even like with within

2:40:41 the introduction, you know, there's like

2:40:42 there are boxes, you know, paragraph by

2:40:44 paragraph. Some of them apply, some of

2:40:46 them don't. Um,

2:40:47 I mean, you you could just highlight or

2:40:50 or in bold type say this applies to

2:40:53 nonflight board.

2:40:55 I think that makes it more easily read

2:40:59 and less confusing.

2:41:01 I agree.

2:41:03 Okay,

2:41:05 we will we will consult our formatting

2:41:08 team.

2:41:09 All right. Anyone else want to comment?

2:41:14 Okay, then we will vote on this at a

2:41:16 subsequent date as you've received some

2:41:19 more feedback.

2:41:19 Thank you.

2:41:20 And thank you for all the work that's

2:41:22 got into this. We will now move on to

2:41:25 our final item of the evening, long

2:41:27 range and strategic plans progress

2:41:30 discussion of cadence for updating the

2:41:32 board on the progress of long range and

2:41:34 other strategic plans.

2:41:36 Thank you. I will I'll take this as well

2:41:37 and I'll share my screen with you all.

2:41:40 Um

2:41:41 you can see here um this is our internal

2:41:45 tracker of board um uh uh plans.

2:41:50 That any bigger?

2:41:52 Can I make that any bigger? Yes. Is it

2:41:54 going to help you? I don't know. I will

2:41:57 do my best.

2:41:58 Thank you.

2:42:02 Um so you can see here um the list that

2:42:05 we are creating in terms of long range

2:42:07 or mid-range strategic plans. We have

2:42:09 the name of the plan, the department and

2:42:11 division that it belongs to, a link to

2:42:13 the plan itself, um the time horizon of

2:42:16 the plan, when it is updated, the

2:42:18 importance of renewing it on time, the

2:42:20 update cadence that we are suggesting

2:42:22 for the select board, um the method of

2:42:25 which we would recommend um updating

2:42:27 you, and then the contact person for

2:42:30 when you have questions about what was

2:42:32 going on with a particular plan or

2:42:33 policy. I wanted to share this with you

2:42:36 here in advance of publishing it more

2:42:38 broadly and sharing it with both you and

2:42:39 the public to double check one if there

2:42:42 is additional information about these

2:42:44 plans that you would like covered

2:42:46 besides these um these uh uh columns you

2:42:51 see here and um to um just have a

2:42:55 discussion more generally about the

2:42:57 cadence of these um presentations. One

2:43:00 of the things that I want to avoid, you

2:43:02 know, it's good. It's, you know, we

2:43:03 talked a little bit earlier about

2:43:04 codifying norms and practices and so

2:43:06 forth. It's really great that we are

2:43:08 moving into, you know, in on a

2:43:10 department by department basis increased

2:43:12 strategic planning and long range um

2:43:15 policy um focus. Um what we don't want

2:43:18 to do is wind up in a situation where

2:43:20 all of our time is spent updating our

2:43:21 plans. Um we want to be implementing the

2:43:23 plans. So um you can see here that we

2:43:26 have um 22 uh plan Sorry, 21 plans

2:43:31 listed here. Uh, of which, um, some are,

2:43:35 um, some are plans that were, for

2:43:36 example, the strategic asset um, and

2:43:40 major parcel study was commissioned as

2:43:42 part of the 2018 override. Um, and there

2:43:44 was never a proposal made to update it.

2:43:46 Um, it's included here for sake of

2:43:48 completeness. Um, but it is one of the

2:43:50 odd plans out in the sense that it

2:43:53 provides valuable guidance to us, but it

2:43:55 doesn't actually have um, a cadence for

2:43:58 updates to the board. Um similar and you

2:44:01 know you can see similarly with um the

2:44:03 2022

2:44:05 um uh transportation and mobility plan.

2:44:07 There is no um language in that plan

2:44:09 about when the next major update is. But

2:44:12 obviously one of the things that's

2:44:14 happened since that plan was published

2:44:16 is that we have been updating the data

2:44:17 in underlining under underlying it on an

2:44:20 annual basis. And so the publication of

2:44:23 the plan itself is a um a starting

2:44:26 point, but then every year you will see

2:44:29 the commissioner come in with an updated

2:44:31 version of that um you know now

2:44:34 ubiquitous graph about if we spend x

2:44:35 amount of dollars the quality of the

2:44:37 roads goes up. If we spend x amount of

2:44:38 dollars the quality of the roads is

2:44:39 maintained. If we spend less than x

2:44:41 amount of dollars, the quality of the

2:44:42 roads goes down because we update that

2:44:44 number every year, which we were not

2:44:46 always doing prior to the catalyst of

2:44:50 that transportation and mobility plan.

2:44:52 Um, so there are, you know, I we when we

2:44:56 circulate this document, I think the

2:44:58 feedback that would be helpful for us is

2:45:01 is this too much information? Is there

2:45:03 is there too much going on here? um you

2:45:06 know where possible we've tried to

2:45:08 identify when updates can be

2:45:09 consolidated or put in writing. For

2:45:11 example, there are a number of emergency

2:45:13 management plans on here and the EM team

2:45:15 is happy to consolidate updates of these

2:45:17 with other either with other plans um or

2:45:21 um with other emergency management

2:45:22 functions. So, it's not as though we

2:45:24 need to be updating all 21 of the all 21

2:45:26 of these in person with you on even on

2:45:29 an annual basis. Um there's the

2:45:31 opportunity for consolidation, but um we

2:45:34 want to hear from you if there's too

2:45:36 much in here, if there are things that

2:45:38 you were expecting to see in here that

2:45:39 are not in here. Um and if the

2:45:42 overarching cadence of this is um

2:45:44 appropriate, at which point we will

2:45:46 start building out your annual calendar

2:45:50 um with regular updates based on this

2:45:54 framework. So,

2:45:56 so my initial thought is that your your

2:45:59 uh projects or sorry your reports

2:46:02 essentially fall in a few different

2:46:03 buckets. There are those that we need to

2:46:06 have a formal updating of the report on

2:46:08 some regular cadence every five to 10

2:46:11 years for either internal purposes or or

2:46:14 for state funding. Um there are others

2:46:17 that I could see something like the Karp

2:46:20 where the update is not you need to redo

2:46:23 the whole plan. You just need to report

2:46:25 back on the progress that has been made

2:46:27 against said plan.

2:46:28 Um and so like the the cadence and the

2:46:31 type of feedback are different

2:46:33 in that regard. Um, and then maybe the

2:46:35 third category is what you were talking

2:46:37 about where there's a few one-off

2:46:40 uh reports that have been done and I

2:46:42 think when thinking about them, we

2:46:45 should view it in the context from which

2:46:47 they started. Um, so if the goal was to

2:46:52 identify major parcels that might be

2:46:54 ripe for development, theoretically the

2:46:56 update should come from our long-term

2:46:59 economic development team um, in the

2:47:02 context of whatever other updating

2:47:04 they're they're doing on a regular

2:47:05 basis. Um, so maybe even like thinking

2:47:08 about them into three different

2:47:10 categories. Um because you're right, I

2:47:13 can very much see way too much staff

2:47:16 time being put into words smmithing

2:47:19 documents that no one is going to read.

2:47:21 Um where I would rather know, especially

2:47:25 for things that um we have talked about

2:47:28 hitting milestones on a regular basis. I

2:47:30 would rather just have them spend their

2:47:33 time making progress and then saying

2:47:36 x amount of the vision zero high

2:47:38 priority network has vision zero

2:47:40 improvements. That's a much more valid

2:47:42 number to me than like rewriting the

2:47:44 whole vision zero plan.

2:47:46 And also a natural point at which many

2:47:48 of these departments and divisions are

2:47:50 going to deliver updates to you about

2:47:52 this is as part of the budget process,

2:47:54 right? you know this is when they

2:47:55 present to advisory that's really the

2:47:58 deep dive the digging into the the the

2:48:00 the lines and and so forth. This is you

2:48:04 their opportunity there are updates to

2:48:05 you on the select board are really an

2:48:07 opportunity to talk about goals and and

2:48:09 achievements and progress um and what

2:48:12 their hopes are for the coming fiscal

2:48:14 year. So as part of that they can build

2:48:16 these longer range plans some of these

2:48:19 longer range plans into that update. But

2:48:21 for some of them, I do think that you

2:48:22 are going to want standalone updates on

2:48:25 how things are going because of the

2:48:27 centrality of the plans to the overall

2:48:29 um goals and objectives of the town.

2:48:32 Um a couple of thoughts. Um

2:48:37 with regard to sort of the categories

2:48:39 that that Amanda laid out, um uh I was I

2:48:42 was sort of thinking thinking along

2:48:46 somewhat similar lines. Uh in

2:48:48 particular, uh I would like to know

2:48:52 which of these

2:48:54 um which of these plans have trackable

2:48:58 goals embedded within them and which

2:49:01 ones do not. Um and for the ones that

2:49:05 have trackable goals, you know, in the

2:49:07 case of the road map, you know, we've

2:49:09 we've had we there's been some

2:49:12 discussion of of the stages of progress

2:49:16 and I know that such also exist in the

2:49:18 car.

2:49:19 Yeah.

2:49:19 Um I think that that kind of common

2:49:23 progress marker to the extent that it

2:49:26 can be adopted across more plans um in

2:49:30 in presentation will help streamline our

2:49:33 ability to absorb the information. So

2:49:36 building building out some some form of

2:49:40 consistent progress indicators

2:49:44 um for those plans that have specific

2:49:46 goals

2:49:48 um and

2:49:50 for that set of plans

2:49:53 um I'm not sure how much how how much

2:49:56 sort of detailed uh words smmithing is

2:49:59 necessary but certainly to know if a

2:50:04 particular goal or action that is being

2:50:08 uh measured along the along that

2:50:10 implementation or execution pathway

2:50:13 makes progress. Um I would actually like

2:50:16 to be able to see that information just

2:50:19 just that that one metric updated on a

2:50:22 quarterly basis. And the reason is

2:50:25 because because since there are so many

2:50:29 PL um of so many items that are being

2:50:32 tracked along that mechanism um by the

2:50:36 time you know if you look at this

2:50:37 annually and you try and look at all of

2:50:39 the things that people have worked on.

2:50:41 It's it's very hard to absorb

2:50:45 um and respond to and reflect on, you

2:50:48 know, what could be several hundred

2:50:51 action items that have been made that

2:50:54 we've made progress on and if there was

2:50:56 a

2:51:00 slightly faster rhythm specifically just

2:51:03 to indicate those items in which

2:51:06 progress has been made. Um I think that

2:51:09 would be helpful both for us to be able

2:51:11 to digest it and for broader

2:51:13 communication to the public.

2:51:15 So for clarification you would say on a

2:51:18 quarterly basis take the carp and be

2:51:20 like these three items we made progress

2:51:22 on this quarter and not talk about the

2:51:24 rest of them.

2:51:24 Right. And this one moved from planning

2:51:26 to implementation and this one moved

2:51:28 from implementation to complete and this

2:51:31 one moved from pre-planning. Now we've

2:51:33 started planning.

2:51:35 When when saying tracking, do you mean

2:51:39 measurable or beyond measurable?

2:51:41 Well, from my examination of plans, um I

2:51:47 to answer your

2:51:49 the your question, I think I'm talking

2:51:52 about trackable. Um if we have uh if we

2:51:56 are trying to track goals that are not

2:51:58 themselves measurable or we have a sense

2:52:02 of like sort of where they are in the

2:52:04 execution pipeline

2:52:06 um then I think that's a problem with

2:52:08 the goal and that should be that should

2:52:10 potentially be called out. Um

2:52:15 but but the the other piece of this that

2:52:18 makes that makes some of these goals

2:52:20 more complex is that some of the goals

2:52:23 as they're specified in plans are oneoff

2:52:26 goals like you know we want to uh we

2:52:31 want to reduce our vision zero deaths in

2:52:33 town to zero per year right and you know

2:52:37 we have all these sub goals and you know

2:52:39 the uh the the percentage of

2:52:42 implementation of bicycle network etc

2:52:44 and so forth. Um some of them are a

2:52:47 single goal that goes from beginning to

2:52:49 end. There are other goals however which

2:52:52 are ongoing where that cycle of

2:52:55 implementation

2:52:57 um is actually annual you know like

2:53:02 uh I can't think of an example off the

2:53:04 top of my head but many of the goals for

2:53:06 example in the carp say or the road map

2:53:08 say ongoing which means that you know

2:53:11 you you get it done in one year and then

2:53:13 you need to get it done in in a in a

2:53:15 future year. Um, and maybe for that set

2:53:19 of for that set of ongoing goals,

2:53:22 there's a different kind of cadence, but

2:53:24 I'm particularly interested in both for

2:53:27 our understanding and for the

2:53:28 understanding of the public when we

2:53:30 establish long range goals that have

2:53:34 multiple stages in terms of their

2:53:36 execution that we get more reporting on

2:53:39 those.

2:53:40 So, I I agree with your uh proposed

2:53:42 formulation.

2:53:44 uh I would propose maybe adding one

2:53:47 additional layer which would be to the

2:53:49 extent that the goals are quantitative

2:53:53 to provide that data as well where where

2:53:56 there's something that is tangibly

2:53:58 measurable as opposed to a qualitative

2:54:00 goal. So some of our goals are more

2:54:04 uh open-ended and subject to

2:54:06 interpretation. And so those can

2:54:08 certainly be tracked in terms of what

2:54:10 stage we're in similar to what we're

2:54:12 doing with the road map. But where there

2:54:14 is a goal that uh there's a specific

2:54:16 number having that specific number as a

2:54:19 data point I think would be helpful.

2:54:21 Sure. Yeah. And and for the for the

2:54:24 items which are uh maybe the term is

2:54:29 aspirational as opposed to measurable,

2:54:32 right? because um

2:54:35 you know I think I think I'm less

2:54:38 concerned personally about quarterly

2:54:42 progress on aspir on those aspirational

2:54:45 goals. I mean, they may still be they

2:54:48 may still be quantifiable in the sense

2:54:50 that, you know, if we if we, for

2:54:52 example, have a goal that says we want

2:54:54 2400 units of new housing by 2035 or

2:54:58 whatever number comes up in whichever

2:55:00 plan, um that that goal is relevant. Um,

2:55:06 I mean it certainly would be worthwhile

2:55:08 at some point having,

2:55:11 you know, knowing where we are along

2:55:13 that number, but that's that's a

2:55:15 different tracking piece than the

2:55:18 tracking piece of where we are in the

2:55:21 execution plan. And I think those two

2:55:23 things are distinct um, and may be

2:55:26 subject to different kinds of reporting.

2:55:31 All right, anyone else?

2:55:33 Amanda,

2:55:34 uh, just one uh point. I I actually

2:55:37 liked your quarterly tracking, but I'm

2:55:39 thinking about staff workload for some

2:55:42 of those. And I don't want the tracking

2:55:46 to update us on a quarterly basis to

2:55:48 take the place of actually doing the

2:55:50 thing.

2:55:51 And so if that is too heavy a burden,

2:55:53 I'd rather go to less frequent updates.

2:55:55 And you know, all of this feedback I'm

2:55:57 writing down, we have our regular

2:55:59 department heads meetings. I'm going to

2:56:01 take this feedback back to the

2:56:02 department heads and get get comments

2:56:04 from them. I'll bring it back to you.

2:56:05 This is this is a dialogue. So, we will

2:56:07 continue to have this conversation.

2:56:09 Right. I I I want to make really clear

2:56:11 that that I'm not trying to get words

2:56:15 details on every goal quarterly. Right.

2:56:17 I'm trying to get a very specific metric

2:56:20 that we can track over time.

2:56:25 All right. Anything else?

2:56:28 Oh, one other point. I think you have it

2:56:30 in your spreadsheet, but the ones that

2:56:32 we are tracking because like I'm

2:56:35 thinking the OSRP that you need to

2:56:37 submit in order to be eligible for

2:56:39 funding and therefore like it important

2:56:42 to do it at whatever cadence is

2:56:44 dictated.

2:56:44 Yes. One of the you know one of the

2:56:46 things that department head suggested as

2:56:47 we were building this was you know why

2:56:49 do we need this you know is it just why

2:56:51 do we need to update this document is it

2:56:53 and the answer could be we don't or the

2:56:54 answer could be we must or we don't get

2:56:56 the money. Um, so yeah.

2:56:58 And yeah, and that the answer to that

2:57:00 also helps like if we can consolidate

2:57:02 any plans,

2:57:03 right?

2:57:03 Um, because I am all for streamlining so

2:57:06 that you're not updating three different

2:57:08 plans with the same thing.

2:57:09 Yes.

2:57:10 Um, and and I'm sure there are also

2:57:12 cases where um uh specific plan goals

2:57:17 are either uh redundant or conflicting.

2:57:21 And you know that's once we once we have

2:57:25 the full list and we can to see that

2:57:27 then maybe identifying some of those

2:57:30 points will also be helpful.

2:57:34 All right.

2:57:36 Okay. So, that wraps up that item. But

2:57:38 before we close for the evening, a

2:57:40 couple matters. Uh Kate, for purposes of

2:57:43 the minutes, Anthony contacted me and in

2:57:46 addition to voting yes to reappoint Len

2:57:49 Holy, he also would like to register a

2:57:51 yes vote for the Win Village MOA.

2:57:55 Okay. Thank you.

2:57:58 Um would

2:57:58 is that allowed then to send in a vote?

2:58:02 I I I I would really like opinion from

2:58:05 council on that question as well.

2:58:07 I think we've done it before, but sure

2:58:08 we can check.

2:58:09 Good answer.

2:58:10 We will um county council is online, but

2:58:12 I I don't think Joe, I don't know if you

2:58:14 have a have a have an answer up your

2:58:15 sleeve for this one. Um

2:58:18 so I don't think it counts as an

2:58:20 official vote, but you can record his

2:58:22 sense that if he was president, he would

2:58:24 have voted that way. So I think that's

2:58:25 permissible. But counting it as like

2:58:28 four, you know, you know, if it was

2:58:30 probably 40 instead of now 50, like no,

2:58:33 that's not permissible. He needs to be

2:58:34 present. But you can put in the minutes

2:58:36 that if president, you know, uh, you

2:58:38 know, Anthony would have voted in favor.

2:58:41 Okay.

2:58:44 All right. Would anyone like to be heard

2:58:46 in public comments before we close our

2:58:48 meeting?

2:58:51 There's no one line. I make a

2:58:53 Sure. Go ahead, Amanda. Um, mainly

2:58:54 because I'm still on the pole worker

2:58:56 emails. Uh, Brookline is still in need

2:58:58 of poll workers for the November

2:59:00 election. Um, so contact I think it is

2:59:04 poleworker bricklinem.gov

2:59:06 if you are interested.

2:59:08 We are not meeting on that.

2:59:11 And I would like to uh add a thank you

2:59:13 to Mrs. Rubenstein for fetting us

2:59:16 delicious apple cake tonight.

2:59:18 Please uh Ms. Scavenish.

2:59:20 Miss Scavish.

2:59:21 Yes. for uh the delicious apple.

2:59:23 Whoever it was, it was delicious. I

2:59:25 mean, it was incredible.

2:59:27 Okay. All right.

2:59:27 Thank you. And you can record that in

2:59:29 the minutes.

2:59:31 And that David, are you going to attend

2:59:33 the uh opening of the Wonder restaurant

2:59:36 thing tomorrow?

2:59:38 What time is that?

2:59:40 It's 5:30 to 7:30.

2:59:41 Yeah.

2:59:42 Yeah. I was planning on being there.

2:59:43 Yeah, I was going to go, too.

2:59:45 All right.

2:59:46 I mean, you don't have to go. I'm

2:59:48 curious, but

2:59:49 I'll try to make it.

2:59:50 Okay. You know what it is? It's new

2:59:53 concept.

2:59:53 Yeah,

2:59:54 they they sent me a request for an RSVP.

2:59:57 I don't know if they sent one.

3:00:00 All right. Well, that concludes our

3:00:02 meeting for the evening. Okay.

3:00:03 Thank you.