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Select Board Meeting — October 1, 2025
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1:05
I know who your favorite is.
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Welcome everyone to the Board of Select— Select Board— Select Board meeting, Wednesday, October 1st, 2025, 6:00 PM, in the meeting room at the Town Hall, Peck Street.
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Mass General Law Chapter 30A, subsection 20F requires any person recording must notify the chair at the beginning of the meeting.
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Anybody recording?
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Seeing no one, all select board meetings are recorded via audio and video and are broadcast live on C-CONG Channel 15.
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We call the regular meeting to order at 6 PM.
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Could we have the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence, please?
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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
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Could somebody read the board and committee openings, please?
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Madam Chair, we are still seeking volunteers on the Capital Improvement Committee.
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7 positions.
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2:18
Commission on Disability, 2 to 10 positions.
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Cultural Council, 1 position.
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Economic Development Committee, 5 positions.
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Energy Committee, 3 positions.
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Finance Committee, 1 position.
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Historical Commission, 3 positions.
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The Library Building Committee, 5 positions.
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Recycling Committee, 1 position.
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And the Zoning Board of Appeals, 1 alternate.
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If anybody's interested, as always, go on to the town's website and you can fill out a talent bank form which is automatically submitted.
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Bless you.
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2:55
Is that, uh, Commission on Disability still correct, the numbers?
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So we will only get some people.
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I got to send out— I forgot to send out the email for an employee.
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We need one employee.
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Yeah.
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Oh, okay.
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So then they'll have the, uh, form.
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Oh, okay, good.
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Yep.
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Priority matters.
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Consider the request for street acceptance of Roseanne Court and forward to the planning board for a recommendation.
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We have Anybody?
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Come on down.
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I'm good.
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How are you?
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Just your name and the street, please.
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Where was that again?
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No, I'm kidding.
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I'm kidding.
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3:34
I know where you live.
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Okay.
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Do you want to say something first, or I think From what I've gathered from our— the town inspector, they've come out a few times.
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I'm sure you got the last GPI email, um, pretty much saying that they haven't seen any major concerns and to move forward with the acceptance.
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Okay, can I get a motion?
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So moved.
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Second.
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I got a motion and a second.
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Well, kind of got a motion and a second.
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Uh, do we have any questions from the board?
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Anything?
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Seeing none, ready for the question.
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All in favor?
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Aye.
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Any opposed?
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Seeing none, unanimous.
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Thank you so much, we appreciate it.
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You're welcome.
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Okey dokey.
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Community speaks.
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Do we have anybody from the community who would like to speak to us?
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Come on down, please.
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4:37
Your name and street, please.
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Bonnie DeBlois, 380 Prospect Street.
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4:41
Um, last spring we had a meeting about the speed limit, and my question just is, is there any progress at all on lowering the speed limits to what was recommended at that meeting?
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I remember that now that you mentioned it.
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I think it had to go to the state or something like that, but I haven't heard anything in months.
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Yeah, so I was going to say Mr. Sager.
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I don't know.
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Wasn't Mr. Sager, Mr. Cabral.
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Uh, he, he did present the, uh, traffic study, so I'll just follow up with him.
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We— I think it was 6 months ago.
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I think it might have— were you on?
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Remember that?
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I was on then.
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Yeah, my first meeting.
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So around April, right?
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Yeah.
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So we did, we did have the traffic study, so I'll follow up with him to see where that's at.
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Okay.
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And how can I get a progress report on that?
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Uh, if you want to— if you— I don't know if you want to share your number, but if you want to call the office Uh, and then just touch base with Chris Tester.
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Okay.
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And I'll, I'll be in touch with you.
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All right.
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So you're telling us that the, the speed limits haven't changed yet?
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They have not changed.
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Okay.
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Thank you for bringing that to our attention.
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Anybody else from the community wish to speak?
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Okay, moving on.
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License hearing.
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Consider the request from Fun City Trampoline LLC to have 44 amusement machines at 1275 Fore River Avenue Christina Abreu, manager.
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Yeah, hi.
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Hello everyone.
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Oh, just your name please.
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Christina.
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And you're representing Fun City Trampoline.
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Okay, so let's get a motion and a second first.
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Next, please.
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Can I get a motion to approve?
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So moved.
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Now a second.
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Second.
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Okay, now for questions, which I have a question.
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Sure.
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Don't you have any— some already?
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Yes.
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So you want 44 more?
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It's 44 total.
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We did like an inventory with you guys.
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It's over an inventory sheet.
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Yes, I have that right in front of me.
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So this is— this— so this is 44 total.
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How many are you adding to what you had prior to filling out this paperwork?
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As far as I know, it was 44 existing.
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Oh, it's always been 44, and this has to do with the license to have the 44.
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Okay, okay, I get it.
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That kind of rings a bell, Sean.
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That kind of rings a bell.
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Something to do with the license and they Yes, they didn't have the right paperwork.
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They had the machines, they didn't have the license for it.
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That's why they're here tonight to get the license.
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All right, she recognized that they didn't have the license, so they filled out the paperwork after the fact.
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Excellent.
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Okay, any questions from anyone else on the board?
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Seeing none, all in favor?
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Aye.
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Any opposed?
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Seeing none, unanimous.
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Thank you for coming in.
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Have a good day.
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You too.
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Discussion regarding fire department equipment.
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Sean, you have something?
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Uh, yeah, Madam Chair, I did send out an update to the, to the board.
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Um, so the overall, uh, status we have, uh, the apparatus for the fire department was the one new engine that was purchased with Bristol County Opera money, and then we also had the, the engine So the rescue is scheduled to be completed on Q2 of 2026.
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So that's between April and July of 2026.
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And then the new engine currently in production, estimated delivery date of February 2027, subject to factory scheduling.
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And those are the— that's all the equipment that is correct.
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Yep.
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On order right now.
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That we've— okay.
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Anyone, questions, comments?
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Can I move on?
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Moving on.
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Discussion and consideration of a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the Wheeler School.
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Sorry, you want me to take the lead?
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Go ahead.
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Okay.
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So this was a request of Mr. Sagar to enter into a Payment in lieu of tax is also known as a pilot for the Wheeler School.
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So for the folks in the audience and the folks at home, nonprofit organizations do not pay taxes unless we enter into a payment in lieu of taxes.
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Then they agree to terms for a payment in lieu, obviously, of the taxes that they don't pay.
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There are conversations about services that are rendered.
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There is no mandate that the town can implement to force a nonprofit to enter into an agreement for, for a pilot.
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I know Mr. Sagar was concerned obviously with the amount of property that was over there and then also just the amount of taxes not being paid.
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So I'll turn it over to him.
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We did have some conversations initially with the Wheelers School.
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They did provide some in-kind services that I did share with the board that they've identified in terms of in-kind services that they provide to the town.
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But I'm under the impression also that the discussion isn't over yet.
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Correct, right, correct.
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Right, you have anything?
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I agree with you wholeheartedly.
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What they told us is ridiculous.
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Well, that's why we discuss, and the discussion is still ongoing.
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So, okay.
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And I, and I just to add to the conversation, um, having a discussion, I think the town administrator did too, with the town administrator, uh, with the state rep.
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He was of the mindset that we possibly could file for some special legislation because he has a similar issue in the town of Rehoboth.
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They have a lot of colleges and everything, they have equestrian farms out there.
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So, right, yeah, so it's not over with yet, so it does need to continue.
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And I'm sure they don't want to pay anything, but it's, it's totally unfair.
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Yeah, but I want people to know that, uh, I don't know if you were on the board then, but we've had this discussion and that's about that, and we knew, the board knew about the possible legislation, but the board directed Shawn, Mr. Cadime, excuse me, to speak with somebody at Wheelock School first before even entertaining any kind of legislation or backing any at this point.
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So this discussion is still ongoing, and let's hope it's a short ongoing.
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So as Mr. Sagar had mentioned, I did have a conversation with the representative.
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He did indicate that potentially he might be inclined to, as Mr. Sagar mentioned, file some legislation for out-of-state nonprofit organizations that have property in the state of Massachusetts that they'd be required to do a payment in lieu of taxes.
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I know Moses Brown has some facilities in Rehoboth, so there's also that concern in Rehoboth.
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Obviously with Wheeler School, another Rhode Island entity, uh, in the town of Seekonk.
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Johnson and Wales.
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Oh, Johnson and Wales, right.
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Lincoln School.
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There's a whole bunch of them.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Okay, discussion and consider the approval of a request from Darling Development Corporation, 928 Fore River Avenue LLC, for an economic development incentive.
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Hello, hello.
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One at a time.
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Good evening, Madam Chairman, members of the board.
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For the record, my name is Mike Levinson.
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I'm an attorney at Brainsky Levinson LLC here in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
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I'm the legal representative of Darling Development Corporation and 928 Fall River Avenue.
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Here with me tonight is John Vizier, who's the CFO of the companies.
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Mr.
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Darling, who is the president and manager of the 2 entities, is also in the audience tonight as well.
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So, okay, so Madam Chair, so as the board's aware, we've been working on this TIF.
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It goes back to almost about a year now, uh, with the initial request.
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So we were going back and forth just to give the board some— a better understanding.
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Uh, so initial conversations, uh, started back in November of 2023.
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Uh, the state was— had an economic development bill that was put forth that was approved by the governor, uh, passed by the legislature, and then signed off by the governor on November 20th, 2024.
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Which modify the Economic Development Incentive Program.
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13:17
And the biggest change there is that it allows for just some local approvals on TIFs as opposed to going through the state, as long as there's no state tax credit that's being approved.
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So that was the change that we were waiting for.
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We weren't sure how that was going to take place.
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So in having conversations, we began drafting the TIF in about March, trying to get it on for the spring town meeting.
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We felt that it was probably in the best interest to hold off and not go through the Springtown meeting.
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Presented— the application was presented to the board.
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Part of the policy, as, as I've sent out to the board, is a referral to Finance Committee and the Board of Assessors.
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The committee— the board has the committee's recommendations.
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Finance has approved the TIF, or recommends approval of the TIF, unanimously.
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The Board of Assessors, there were 2 members who sat in on that meeting.
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Uh, they voted not to approve the TIF as presented.
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Uh, they did subsequently, uh, provide a second recommendation, uh, that they would, uh, recommend approval of a 3-year TIF as opposed to a 5-year TIF.
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Um, I just let the Board of Assessors know that the only thing that they could act on was what was submitted to them.
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The board can make the changes, so that's why I had them, uh, request a second, uh, recommendation, just so that the board was aware of that.
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In terms of the application, and then I can turn it over to the Dahlin Corp., it's a 5-year TIF.
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It's got 5 permanent full-time new jobs that are going to be created and then 15 permanent new jobs.
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And having conversations with the Dahlin Group, they do have seasonal workers, so there will be more workers that will be in the hotel But there are at least 5 full-time and 15 part-time that will be permanent positions.
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The term of the agreement would be a 5-year TIF with 80% of the new growth.
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So just for everybody's edification, the tax increment financing is only on the new growth.
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So they would pay taxes on the base evaluation as established.
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15:27
Year 2 would be 60%.
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Uh, TIF, and then year 3 would be a 40%, year 4 is a 20%, and then year 5 is a 10%.
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15:38
I just want to point out to the, to the board that, um, what's unique about this is, is that one, it's a hotel, it's not on the entire property, it's specifically for, for the hotel.
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15:48
Uh, the Darlings are not looking for a TIF on any other portion of, of that property.
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15:53
Uh, we do still receive hotel taxes, so as the board is aware, in the FY25 budget, we had forecasted $850,000.
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By quarter 3, we already had a collection rate of 84%.
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So, um, that was almost a 10% increase based on what our forecast was.
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We ended up closing the year, uh, 1% below our, our target, and that was due to the closing of the Clarion.
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So that was about a $100,000 swing that we lost in terms of, of the hotel tax.
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A good part about this is that it's going to be a brand new hotel.
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We still get personal property tax, so the hotels do have a lot of personal property, so that will still be there.
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The other benefit to the new hotel is that it's going to be higher dollar rates for the room, which means that there's going to be additional increase in revenue for hotel tax coming in.
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16:48
Their new growth is estimated to be 7.5% on a commercial rate of 26.
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35.
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So that whole TIF was— is on that $7.5 million new growth number.
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Total estimated value for that portion of the property is $8.4 million.
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So they will be paying taxes on the $900,000 valuation, which was the baseline valuation.
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And then I'll turn it over to Mr. Levinson if he wants to add.
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Sure.
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Yeah, just a couple things here.
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As Mr. Kadeem had mentioned, this is unique for a couple different fronts for one of these TIFs or an economic incentive agreement.
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17:29
As he mentioned, it's not the entire property.
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17:31
If you notice, there was an exhibit that should have been circulated among you guys.
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17:34
You can see there's 2 different sections cordoned off here.
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17:38
This is actually part of the financing structure we had.
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17:41
We, we didn't subdivide the property, but we set it up in 2 long-term ground leases so we could control both sections, one being the hotel and approximately about 100,000 square feet of, of the land, and then the, the rest of the area being the Whole Foods.
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17:55
There's an inline retail and then a proposed pad site.
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17:58
All we're seeking the TIF for, um, is the, the area that's the Exhibit A in the hotel, that, that location.
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18:05
Uh, he also mentioned the timing.
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18:07
Um, we, we have been in negotiation.
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18:09
I think we went back probably 2023 when we first started talking about this.
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18:13
We had mentioned the TIF.
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18:14
I know this is a little backwards.
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Usually this is something that towns will use to sort of draw a company in to invest in town.
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18:20
We knew this legislation was in the works and it was going to be more of a local control instead of a state legislation.
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Additionally, knowing that was in the pipeline and making sure we put this together the right way, we also had some obligations.
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18:33
As you know, Whole Foods is our main anchor tenant at that location.
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18:37
Whole Foods is Amazon, but, you know, and they, they sort of tell us timelines we've got to meet with certain buildings.
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18:43
So we couldn't sit and wait for 2 to 3 years to work on this without actually breaking ground and building.
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18:48
So we are on target right now.
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18:50
If I'm correct, I think landlord's work on the hotel is going to be done in about a month, and I think they're looking to open sometime next summer, right?
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18:56
The Whole Foods and the hotel, I think we're looking what, spring sometime, right?
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19:00
Yeah.
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So we're moving along pretty well.
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19:03
We were able to keep that moving to bring that industry into the town and that economic growth into the town.
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19:09
The other thing too is not to knock— hopefully Dave doesn't hold this against against me.
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19:13
That old Clarion was an old and tired hotel.
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19:15
I think it goes back to like the '60s or '70s.
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19:17
It's quite an old building.
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19:19
This hotel that's getting built, it's 94 building— yeah, 94 rooms, state-of-the-art.
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19:24
It's got green technology.
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19:25
There's going to be solar on the roof.
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19:27
It's a much better building.
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19:28
And as Sean had mentioned, they're anticipating having a much higher occupancy rate and a higher per-room rental rate.
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19:35
So that is going to generate some more some taxes at the hotel tax.
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19:40
That being said, hotels are— can be a tricky business.
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19:44
It takes some years to stabilize.
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19:45
If you saw the pro forma we put in front of you with the investment into this, cost of funds, the site development, there's— the numbers are extremely tight.
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19:54
And, you know, with that, we're looking for some type of tax break or tax incentive here to allow us to increment this increase in value over a 5-year period.
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Okay, do I have any— anything from the board?
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Just, just if I could, uh, quickly, just in terms of the process— I'm sorry, I just want to update the, uh, the board.
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20:18
Um, the process would be that, uh, if the board does recommend this, it still requires it to be put on a town meeting warrant, uh, for town meeting approval.
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20:27
So that would be the final step in that.
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20:28
Is that majority or two-thirds?
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20:31
I believe it's simple majority, but let me just double-check.
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20:33
I think it actually is two-thirds, but don't quote me on that.
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20:36
Yeah, let me— I'll defer to the attorney.
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20:40
I'll double-check that.
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20:42
I may be wrong.
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20:43
Our attorney.
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20:44
Yeah.
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20:45
Everybody good?
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20:52
Got nothing?
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20:52
Got nothing?
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20:55
Okay, I'll take— I'll make a motion for approval of Darling Corp. 928 Fore River LLC for an economic development incentive.
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21:03
So moved.
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Second.
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21:06
Last chance, questions, comments, anything?
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21:08
No.
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21:09
Seeing none, all in favor?
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21:12
Aye.
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21:12
Any opposed?
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21:14
Seeing none, unanimous.
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21:15
Uh, Madam Chair, while Mr.
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21:17
Darling is here, could I recognize him on recent accomplishment, which is he, uh, Saturday evening he became the winning— most winningest champion in the Pro Stock division at Secaucus Speedway, getting his 9th championship.
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21:33
Oh wow.
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21:33
And he's also the NASCAR state champion too, I believe.
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21:37
Not that year.
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21:38
Not this year.
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21:39
Okay, but they split it.
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21:42
All right, but a great accomplishment.
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21:45
So Good for you.
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21:47
Thank you very much.
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21:48
Thanks.
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21:51
Okay, consider the intent to lay out Edgery Court and refer to the planning board for a recommendation for fall town meeting.
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22:01
Do we have anything on that?
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22:07
No.
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22:07
Are we just going— no, we're just, we're just forwarding it.
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22:10
We're just going to forward it.
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22:11
Um, I will say that there is a little bit of an issue with this one.
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22:15
We're working with town council on it, so once the recommendation comes back, I'll have more of an update for the board.
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22:20
Whereabouts is that?
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22:21
Where's that?
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22:21
Is that off— right off Only Street?
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22:24
Only Street, yeah, before where Mr. Sneller lived.
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22:27
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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22:28
There's just a question about the— it was put in a trust and whether or not the trust is in existence.
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22:33
That's what we're trying to deal with right now.
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22:35
Okay, take a motion to refer to the planning board for their recommendation for fall town meeting.
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22:39
So moved.
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22:40
Second.
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22:41
Any other questions?
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22:42
Seeing none, all in favor?
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22:44
Aye.
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22:45
Any opposed?
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22:46
Unanimous.
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22:49
Accept, accept the resignation of Officer Keith Diaz from the police department effective September 28th, 2025.
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22:55
I'll take a motion.
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22:57
So moved.
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22:59
Second.
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23:00
All in favor?
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23:01
Oops, I got a motion and a second.
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23:03
Anybody have any questions?
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23:05
Do we know how long his service was?
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23:07
7 and a half years.
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23:08
Oh, well, thank him for his service.
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23:12
Okay, all in favor?
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23:14
Aye.
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23:15
Any opposed?
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23:15
Seeing none, let's do this one step at a time.
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23:19
Consider the request to accept a donation from Paul Matthias in the amount of $500 for the Seacock Animal Shelter.
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23:28
No, that's fine, go ahead.
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23:29
So moved.
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23:30
Gary?
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23:31
Okay.
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23:31
Second?
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23:33
Any questions?
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23:34
Seeing none, all in favor?
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23:35
Aye.
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23:36
Any opposed?
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23:37
Seeing none, unanimous.
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23:41
Okay, consider approving the open minutes— open meeting minutes for September 17th, 2025.
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23:53
Make a motion to approve as submitted.
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23:55
Second.
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23:57
Any questions from anybody?
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23:59
Nope.
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23:59
Changes, additives, anything, anything?
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24:02
All in favor?
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24:03
Aye.
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24:04
Any opposed?
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24:05
Seeing none, also unanimous.
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24:08
Do we have any— oh, we're on to Community Speaks again.
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24:12
Anybody, um, from the community?
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24:18
Nobody here.
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24:19
Okay, we've been deserted.
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24:21
Other business, discuss other topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chair, within 48 hours, I don't have any.
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24:28
Town Administrator's report.
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24:30
Thank you, Madam Chair.
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24:31
Just an update on Anthony Street paving.
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24:34
So the contractor is working with his subcontractor to do the paving markings on the street.
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24:39
They're trying to get it done this week.
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24:42
We're just waiting to get word on the vendor whether or not he can fit that in.
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24:45
So that should be done shortly.
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24:48
With regards to the guardrail on Arcade, Uh, we have a vendor that's been selected and they are scheduled to start the work within the next couple of weeks.
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24:59
They may be able to start sooner if a couple of their jobs finish up.
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25:04
Uh, and I don't know if the board has seen, but over at the, the senior center, we installed some bollards in front of the, uh, the building.
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25:12
Uh, we did have an incident where a car hit the building, so DBW did install ballots in the parking spots.
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25:19
The big yellow poles.
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25:22
All in front of— I love this color.
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25:23
Wait, there's been a lot of those going on in buildings.
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25:26
Oh, gosh, in buildings, huh?
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25:28
So they did install that.
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25:29
So we did that work internally.
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25:32
And then just as an update for the DPW project, we do have the geotech testing pits for the structural evaluation for 9/11 Taught Nav being conducted on Monday.
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25:47
Cool.
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25:47
So that's all I have.
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25:48
That's all you have?
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25:50
Select Board liaison reports and comments.
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25:52
Accounts payable warrants has been signed.
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25:56
TV9 liaison report.
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25:58
Madam Chair, all I have is on Monday I received an email that they're having an executive private meeting tonight at 6 o'clock.
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26:05
As we speak, they're having a meeting of executive private meeting, whatever that But they don't have— you don't have another meeting coming up?
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26:12
Nope.
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26:12
One that you could attend?
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26:14
No.
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26:15
Okey-dokey.
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26:16
Bristol County Advisory Board.
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26:18
All right, so the annual meeting was held as scheduled on Thursday, September 18th, and partly, partly was in Zoom.
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26:26
Some people were in attendance.
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26:29
The budget basically was from last year.
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26:33
A couple items, they encumbered money to pay the summer payroll for Bristol Aggie.
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26:37
Teachers and cafeteria staff and support staff.
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26:42
That was about $576,000.
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26:46
From FY25 budget, they had 2 transfers, one a balance of approximately $480,000 into a Chapter 6 account.
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26:55
Another one was approximately $355,700 into an unreserved account.
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27:03
The rest was all regarding FY26.
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27:06
They approved a county tax of $7,746,993.
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27:15
They also established a budget for FY26 of $38,081,789, and out of that budget, $20,586,000 goes towards the Bristol Aggie school budget.
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27:31
Um, they also had 4 union contracts that they needed to approve, and they did all get approved.
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27:38
Um, they all ran— will run from July 1st, 2025 to June 3rd, 2028.
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27:44
Um, in FY26, uh, they'll be getting a 3.5% increase, and then in FY27 and '28, they're getting a 5% increase.
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27:54
Um, but the caveat is they are now going to start paying more for their health insurance.
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28:00
So the ratio of employer to employee insurance is changing.
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28:04
So it's going from 85— right now it's currently at 80/20, uh, 90/10.
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28:09
It's going to go to 85/15 in FY26, 80/20 in FY27, and then 75/25 in FY28.
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28:20
And then there was an update on ARPA funds.
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28:23
They are currently auditing all the applications for all the money that has been spent so far.
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28:30
They have 61 more pending applications that have to be gone through, and all the funds must be expended by December 31st, 2026.
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28:43
They have more money available for the towns and cities?
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28:46
No, if you wanted any more, you had to have your request in by the end of December 2024.
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28:52
Yeah, 2024.
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28:53
Yeah, we make the cut.
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28:55
We did.
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28:55
Yeah, yeah, we just can't get any more money.
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28:58
Yeah, no more available.
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29:00
Yeah, right.
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29:02
And that's it.
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29:03
Thank you.
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29:04
Uh, Madeira's Farm committee report.
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29:07
Uh, the committee met on Monday, uh, to have a kickoff meeting with the owner's project manager.
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29:13
We did have comments from the, uh, the public.
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29:16
There was number of residents that came and spoke.
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29:18
So we probably had a good— I want to say about 2-hour conversation with the neighbors.
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29:24
We'll be working with— or I'll be working with the OPM to get some documents so that we can go out to bid for design of services.
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29:32
And then we're also in the works of working with Mr. Kazarian to put together a small group of neighbors so that myself, the chair, vice chair, and the OPM can have a meeting to discuss quality of life issues surrounding the projects and concerns that they have.
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29:49
So I did reach out to Mr. Kazarian today, just waiting to hear back on some dates from his group, and then we'll coordinate that.
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29:57
And then hopefully we'll have some good feedback from the neighbors about some of the concerns.
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30:02
We heard a lot of it on Monday.
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30:05
You know, I do think some of those items can be addressed, but We just want to make sure that we identify everything we need to identify.
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30:13
Okay, comments?
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30:14
Mr. Segal, you want to go first?
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30:16
Yeah, I thought you might have mentioned the fact that our free cash came in nearly $1 million more than what estimates were, which is a good thing.
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30:25
Forgot about that.
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30:26
Better than less than $1 million less.
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30:28
But our next meeting is going to be at the school library, right?
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30:34
Yeah, 'cause it's— Okay, the 15th.
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30:38
Yep, that's all.
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30:47
Yeah, just one thing, uh, anybody out there, uh, watching who have children or grandchildren or know any children that ride those e-bikes, those motorized bikes, I've personally have been seeing quite a few of them in my neighborhood.
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31:01
And they've just been— I just wanna make sure they ride them safely.
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31:07
I've been seeing some kids fly right through stop signs.
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31:10
They're not stopping.
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31:12
Also saw one go through a stoplight, traffic light.
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31:15
So gotta remember to abide by the rules of the road and please be careful.
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31:21
Got it, okay.
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31:22
Mr. Zarg.
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31:23
Nothing at this time.
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31:25
Mr. Healy.
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31:26
Nothing at this time.
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31:27
What?
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31:29
Come on, we're waiting for you.
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31:32
Yep, so you can repeat our announcements.
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31:35
Well, I got a couple things.
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31:37
I do have announcements, but I do have, um, I talked to Mr. Kadeem and Mr. Orban.
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31:43
You're here.
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31:44
We have a master plan, and the master plan that I have is dated 1986.
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31:49
Is there anything more recent than that?
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31:51
I know.
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31:52
Yeah.
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31:54
Subsequent to that was the 2010 master plan.
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31:57
I want to say it was updated in the 2014 time period, and we've been working on the update over the last, like, several years.
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32:02
So a number of updates— updated elements are in place already.
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32:08
Most recently, the planning board just adopted the recently approved by the state open space recreation plan.
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32:13
So we can make sure you get an updated master plan.
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32:16
I don't know where I found this.
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32:18
Yeah, it's on the website as well.
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32:21
What?
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32:21
There's updated— yeah, okay, we've got all the drafts, elements of the most current master plan up on the planning board website.
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32:29
Okay, because any of those old documents are obviously good for reference, but yeah, well, my, my issue— and I'm only picking on you because you're here and I found this wherever I found it— um, I have an issue with working with facts coming out of a 10-year any plan.
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32:47
Then this just happens to be your master plan.
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32:50
We have other references to plans that are over 10 years old, and there's been a lot that's happened in this town in 10 years, and we need to update them.
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32:59
And unfortunately, and not just yours, but all of them based off the decennial census, so that it's a 10-year plan that's based on that 10-year data.
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33:07
So a lot of times, by the time we're working on the updates, it's at least 2 or 3 years old.
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33:12
Yeah.
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33:13
But 2 or 3-year rolls is— we're not— the planning board's not working off the 1986 master plan right now.
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33:19
You want a copy?
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33:20
No.
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33:21
Well, the concern is all our documents like this, and we have a lot of things coming up in town, and people reference back to these type of documents, and we should be referring back to an up-to-date, right?
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33:34
Most recent.
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33:35
That's a good word, right?
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33:37
And I also found out today, which was— I didn't know about, maybe none of you know about either, I found this at the senior center.
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33:45
The public schools has put out a building project intention survey.
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33:52
This is dated September 26th, this one, Seekonk Public Schools Building Project Intention Survey of September 2025.
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34:02
Now, if anybody had been following the school committee meetings, On the 22nd, they mentioned the MSBA, which is the Massachusetts School Building Authority, has sent them back.
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34:18
This is like a funding mechanism for the towns to get money to upgrade or build new schools, and our superintendent has been working to try and get money for the town.
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34:31
Well, this is a survey that I just found out today, um, that has come out to ask people, of course, survey.
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34:40
They want your opinion.
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34:42
And on the survey it says this survey will close on October 1st, 2025 at 11:59 PM, which is tonight, just before midnight.
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34:53
So what I was told was the survey online will close just before midnight tonight.
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34:59
So you can go on to the school site the Seekonk Public Schools site and fill out this survey online.
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35:06
But if you can't do that and you're curious and you want to know, the senior center has these forms.
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35:13
And I was told that the forms will be picked up on Friday from the school, someone from representing the school department.
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35:21
So that'd be Friday before noontime.
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35:24
So if you would rather write it out than go on the computer and fill it out before midnight tonight, you can go and get one of these forms.
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35:32
They're right at the front desk and they even have a box to put it in once you're done.
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35:36
And I'll just give you a quick overview of what it asks.
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35:41
It asks if your child or children seek out public schools, please select the schools they attend.
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35:47
Then they ask for desirable qualities for the completed facility.
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35:55
The fund's specific educational elements at formula rates based on student population and academic program.
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36:02
Other elements may be funded locally if they are priorities of the community.
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36:07
They ask you things like, which of these is your highest priority?
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36:15
And I'll just read this one.
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36:17
And I didn't make this up.
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36:20
Make only one choice.
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36:22
Update— up-to-date classrooms including science labs, age-appropriate gymnasium, age-appropriate locker rooms including student athletic access for after-school sports, age-appropriate athletic fields, outdoor play facilities, basketball court, play structure, fitness trail, et cetera, dedicated visual arts classrooms, painting, ceramics, et cetera, dedicated performing arts classrooms like band, chorus, theater, a true auditorium as opposed to a cafeteria or gymnasium with a stage, outdoor learning space such as a courtyard, a dedicated engineering classroom, tools, specialized ventilation, safety facilities, etc., and updated security features such as improved cameras, alert systems, and doors.
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37:12
Now there's only 15 questions, and this has a lot to do with— these are the questions, the 2 questions the MSBA sent back to our superintendent of schools that she needs to answer.
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37:30
So she has come up with this survey.
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37:34
So you got 2 days, or a day and a half actually, So I just wanted to point that out.
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37:42
I did not know this was coming through.
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37:46
That— you're lucky enough I found it today and I'm telling you about it today.
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37:51
So there you go.
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37:53
One question I may not be able to answer, but go ahead.
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37:56
Okay, well, I was going to actually refer to the town administrator.
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37:59
Uh, years ago with that program from the state, the reimbursement percentages, they were reimbursing municipalities at a higher percentage rate for a renovation than a new school.
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38:11
Do you know if that still holds true?
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38:13
Um, I don't know what their percentage is, but it is— it's all based on free and reduced lunch, the percentage that you, you get.
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38:20
But I'm not sure where they're— so, so they had done that because they were driving more renovation than, uh, new construction at the time.
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38:26
So that may have changed, but I can, I can look into that.
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38:29
Off the top of my head, I'm not sure of what if there is really a difference in reimbursement.
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38:33
Seems like a lot of people are building new schools versus renovating in the surrounding state and in our state.
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38:39
Yeah, I don't know if they mentioned it at the meeting or anything when they've been talking about it.
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38:45
I didn't notice.
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38:46
Yeah, and the reimbursement for renovation may have just been because, as you know, renovate— renovating is a lot more costly per square foot than building new, so that could have been a reason as well.
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38:56
So Okay, the 2 other things is this weekend, October 4th and 5th, the Open Studios, the Seekonk Artist Network.
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39:05
Like I said, I received this at the senior center too, and they have them at the library.
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39:08
There's 3, 4, 5, there's 6, 6 homes in town that have opened up their house so you can go and see artists, Seekonk artists that do different things.
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39:18
And most of, most of the houses have more than one artist in the home.
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39:23
I've been going for the past couple of years, actually.
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39:26
It's pretty cool.
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39:26
You'd be amazed at what Seekonk people— how talented they are.
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39:32
It's good.
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39:32
It's a good— actually, it doesn't take— and it doesn't take forever, and they have a map, so it tells you where to go.
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39:39
Uh, also, I noticed this as I was driving in.
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39:42
Sunday, October 5th, the fire department has an open house.
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39:45
This is the annual SAFE grant open house.
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39:50
It starts at 10 o'clock, I believe it goes to 1.
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39:53
Um, usually they have, uh, 2, goes to 2.
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39:57
Um, they have a lot of things there for the kids to do.
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40:00
They usually have pizza and drinks and stuff like that, and you can see the equipment that they have there.
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40:07
It's nice, bring the kids, it's fun.
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40:09
I, I usually go just to see.
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40:11
I'm not a fireman, so I like to see the equipment too.
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40:15
But they don't let you drive it.
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40:16
Sorry.
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40:20
So, and that's all I have.
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40:24
I know it's shocking.
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40:25
I know it's shocking.
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40:26
That's all right.
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40:27
Hold on.
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40:29
I'll take a motion to adjourn at 6:39 PM till our next board meeting, Wednesday, October 15th, 2025, at the high school, which would be will also be a quad board meeting, and to enter into an executive session, not to reconvene, uh, not to reconvene into open session for potential contract approval, to discuss strategy with respect to potential litigation pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 30A, subsection 21A3, as having the discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on the town's litigating position, and the chair so declares.
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41:11
With respect to Country Brook Estates, Madison Estates, Ursula's Way, Hart's Court, Court Street Extension, Pine Hill Estates, Jacob Hill Estates, Caleb Estates, Holland Woods, Three Ledges, Brigham Farms 2, Greenwood Farm, Kathleen Court, Wyatt Strawberry Patch, and Orchards Estates, votes may be taken.
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41:34
To conduct a strategy session with respect to negotiations with Seacock Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 1931, per Mass General Law Chapter 30A, subsection 21A3, as having the discussion in open session would be detrimental to the litigation or bargaining position of the town, and to consider accepting the executive session minute— meeting— meeting minutes of September 17th, 2025.
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42:05
So moved, Gary Sega.
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42:07
Second, Michael Healy.
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42:09
Gary Sega, aye.
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42:10
I oppose, aye.
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42:11
Chris, aye.
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42:12
Michael Healy, aye.
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42:13
Michelle Hines, aye.
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42:14
Unanimous.
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42:16
Thank you, everyone.
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