Minutes
Town Council · from the Town's website · 4 pages · 204 KB
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R&O Minutes 8/30/22 Councilor Munson – have we received any legal of the documents prior to the meeting o Councilor Ruggiero – not yet Councilor Munson – have we received any of the info on who would be affected by the recall but thinks that it is clear is is all elected officials in town Councilor Munson – is there any cross comparison on the recall language o Councilor DeMarco – 7 or 8 of the Towns he researched had a population of 6K or less o Councilor Ruggiero – no new info Councilor Ruggiero – recaps the past few meetings discussions Councilor DeMarco – asks about the process o Councilor Ruggiero – explains that the process is to continue discussing all of the items in front of the committee and then make recommendations to the full councol Discussion topic – recommendation 8 – water sewer advisory committee o Councilor Ruggiero – no language proposed, so subcommittee would have to develop it and propose it o Councilor Munson – “advisory” committee would not be binding o Councilor Belcher – thinks this is an excellent idea and thinks there would add an element of oversight of highly controversial topic Discussion topic - recommendation 9 - action on budget o Councilor Ruggiero – explains the matter. o Councilor Munson – logistical no brainer o Councilor Belcher – good idea, more time to go through the budget is better there is a lot of work that goes into it Discussion topic – recommendation 10 - capital improvement plan o Councilor Ruggiero – introduces the topic o Councilor Munson – is it true that we haven’t received this? Asks Councilor Belcher if this would help the process o Councilor Belcher – references the presentation at our last council meeting by brightly o Councilor Munson – would more solid foundation to review the CIP and the budget together o Councilor DeMarco – also seems like a no brainer o Councilor Ruggiero – there is a typo that needs to be fixed in the recommendation. Can take care of that when/if a motion is made Discussion topic – recommendation 11 Airbnb o Councilor Ruggiero – reads recommendation o Councilor Munson – believes it is 100% what we need to do but how do we get to that point Our ordinance is outdated and probably needs updating o Councilor Belcher – the additional trash, etc. create costs for taxpayers During the FinCom recommendations there was a motion that didn’t go through to add a code enforcer o Councilor Ruggiero – mentions other cities (Revere and Boston) that had similar pieces of legislation o Councilor DeMarco – need to stick to enforcement o Councilor Munson – how would the money need to stick to the town’s lap? How would this be taxed o Councilor Munson – has heard complaints on this in his neighborhood Doing quick math, would estimate $250K additional revenue, not to be quoted o Councilor Ruggiero – no specific language or action plan was included in the ORC recommendations, they are simply jiglighing a problem so we can have some flexibility with the solution Discussion topic – recommendation 12 – measure to increase compliance with sign ordinances o Councilor Ruggiero – reads the recommendation o Councilor Munson – aren’t there already measures in place for this? o Councilor Ruggiero – yes, but its not being enforced currently as anecdotally members of the ORC have identified violatios o Councilor DeMarco – thinks this is an easy one but would it apply to private houses No, only for license holders o Councilor Belcher – believes we need to support the departments by making it easier to enforce where we can o Councilor Ruggiero – again there is no specific language regarding an ordinance change Councilor Ruggiero – recaps Use Variance information received via correspondence from Bob Carroll Discussion topic – recommendation 13 – prior ORC recommendations o Councilor Ruggiero reads the recommenation o Councilor Munson asks about the abandonment clause and does it conflict with anything included here o Councilor Belcher – thinks that it actually doesn’t conflict o Councilor DeMarco – believes that these are all technical and should be included Discussion – recommendation 1 o Councilor Ruggiero reads recommendation o Councilor DeMarco – will take them up as a whole. Looking at all three parts of this, there are things he likes and things he doesn’t like, thinks that the people we represent should go to the voters o Councilor Munson – received a lot of pushback from his constituents on this one because they like precinct representation and believes that precinct representation is working; a lot of times when you don’t have a contested race for a precinct race, it is because it has been worked out prior to the election and sometimes it leads to people creating unity at the precinct level if they like the person their running against; would support 1C because 4 years is a lot of time and someone could see their child go through high school and the election would hold them more accountable every 2 years; as for TCP term length, in favor of 1 c, opposed to one a and b; o Councilor DeMarco – there is some truth to what Councilor Munson said about people coming to an agreement prior to actually running an election o Councilor Ruggiero – need to be cognizant of how we vote on this potentially because this plays off other ORC recommendations o Councilor Munson – it may not even matter because ultimately it will all be voted on at the same time o Todd Sacco, P2 Is alarmed that the council is talking about increasing power Addresses point that Councilor Munson made regarding precinct representation States that Councilor Munson was appointed and not elected 9 people on council, charter gives us the right to do what we’re doing and needs to be careful to not undue the work of the ORC because it would be hard to have volunteers for something in the future No one can speak to all of your constituents Safeguards do not show a trust in your neighbors or the public Precinct 5 tree issue, P5 person didn’t bother to talk to the people impacted Doesn’t matter what our opinions are in this room, its about the people and they should decided Councilor Munson to Councilor DeMarco – as someone who received 3,000 votes do you consider yourself doing your job by putting decisions back on the people? Aren’t we elected to make decisions? Councilor Belcher, do these solve the problems they were set out to solve? o We need to answer that question as people who live and work on this every day because they gave us the perspective to do this o Everyone elected Jim, he elected the ORC, he selected the committee; the process is what it is Councilor Munson – it is in the charter as to how this process works and its cool that they are thinking outside of the box but ultimately we just need to vote. Councilor DeMarco – how would these be worded on the ballot? o Councilor Ruggiero – that is potentially the next discussion with Legal depending on what is included Councilor Ruggiero – need to keep in mind of the political climate that we’d be changing. The ORC knew the process, knows the people on the Council, and put something forth that they think would be acceptable by the Council. Councilor Munson – it is hard to increase civic engagement, with the SC, people are more engaged because it more directly impacts their children. With the Council, people need to be at more unique points in their lives to run Councilor Ruggiero – we need to identify if there is a problem and if there is, does this solve it? Councilor Munson – believes the 2 year term is an incentive Councilor Belcher – believes that a 4 year terms allows for continuity of government and leads to projects being continued. Things are slow enough and 2 years could slow it down even more Councilor DeMarco – with all at larges there are more options Councilor Munson – a lower barrier to entry is for someone to attain 300 votes in a neighborhood vs all at large Councilor Belcher – believes precinct representation is important Kurt Millar, P2 o Feedback is appreciated but sometimes it is hard to take feedback from many groups and roll it up and make a decision o In the ORC, there was a ton of debate o Appreciates everyone’s feedback and likes feedback Motion to adjourn by Councilor DeMarco, Seconded by Councilor Ruggiero, passes unanimousl