00:00:00,000	S1:
So. Greetings everybody. This is the December 2nd, 2025 meeting of the Welcome Select Board at 6:30 p.m. and I see someone coming in. That's Peter. Great. We have all five members here Peter Clay, Karen Anger, Deirdre Peretti, Gary Cheeseman, and Ben Timon. Welcome, everyone. Um, hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving. And the first agenda item is public comment. Um, this is for comments on any issue that is not already on the agenda. Um, if you have comments on something on the agenda, um, you'll have the opportunity to comment if you're a member of the public, uh, when we get to that agenda item, uh, are there any public comments? Um, anyone who wishes to make public comments at this time.

00:01:00,767	S2:
I see no hands raise.

00:01:03,501	S1:
Great. That moves this to town administrators report, I believe.

00:01:09,601	S3:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:01:13,367	S3:
Um, yeah, sure. You go ahead and share the packet if you want. Okay. Uh, so. Yeah. So. Well, first, is that the CPC? Uh, application deadline is this Friday on the fifth. And, um, so, and of note, the town hall debt will be, uh, this will be the last year of town hall debt. So that will be paid off in its entirety. Uh, we're also, uh, the Select board's office is working with the Veterans Committee to coordinate an application for the American War Memorial directly across the street from town hall. So that would include, uh, complete sandblasting of the iron fence that surrounds it, uh, and repainting and also a restoration of the memorial itself. We also, um, recently had a, uh, a roof, uh, a study done on the, um, DPW building. Town hall and police station. The fire station was just recently done, uh, through capital, a few years ago. And, uh, the town hall roof is in need of replacement or, you know, is at the point now where the shingles are lifting. And although we don't have any leaks, now is the time to replace it. So we'll be filling out an application for that as well, giving the historic nature of town hall. Uh, and then another reminder that this Saturday is the budget hearing. The budget hearing is going to be from 830 to 1130 to ensure that everybody will be out by noontime, which is or before noontime, which will be. So everybody who wants to can attend reads Across America, which will start at the Main Street Cemetery at noon. And, um, another thing of note for the budget hearing is that, uh, we're going to change the format a little bit. Uh, we're going to do a, uh, Jeff and I will be doing most of the presenting. Uh, on that day, we think that it will, um, you know, kind of be a little bit more based on the feedback. As you know, uh, the folks both income and select board want, you know, to be concise and finance related. And, um, so we're going to do that. And we'll also be incorporating, uh, a little bit of a budget overview, which is normally done at a Select board meeting in December at at night. But we think that given the new streamlined approach, we'll be able to incorporate both and likely still be out, um, you know, by 11:00, 1130 at the latest.

00:03:50,267	S4:
Um, Steve, just to confirm the rights across America is the 13th. Not the sixth.

00:03:57,501	S3:
Is it?

00:03:58,467	S4:
Yeah. So you're.

00:03:59,667	S3:
Looking at.

00:04:00,767	S4:
The sixth, but, um, that's. The dates are wrong.

00:04:04,968	S3:
Okay, well, no, thank you for pointing that out. I've been operating as if it was this Saturday, so thank you. Um, and then I just want to remind folks that winter parking ban is in effect. Uh, it started on November 15th, and we'll run through, um, April. And we're going to be putting that on the light board, uh, in front of Town Hall. And that's all I have for updates tonight.

00:04:35,167	S1:
Thanks, Steve. Um, a couple things for me. One, uh, pertains to what you just referenced the final bond interest payment on the town hall. Um, so the 20th year of payments. Um, that may be something that we want to do a little public education and maybe some commemoration around, I think next year. Uh, when that comes up for town meeting. Um, what a lot of people don't know is that when, when, um, passed the Community Preservation Act in, I believe, 2005.

00:05:17,868	S1:
Um, one of the rationales for doing so was because money could be, um, raised for historic preservation and specifically to pay for the historic restoration of the town hall, which was on the special town meeting warrant. Um, at the same time, those passed at the same time, CPC or CPA, rather. And, um, the vote to fund the town hall restoration. Um, so the people of Wenham should be, you know, proud that that they've been able to collectively through through their tax dollars and the CPA. Um, you know, now complete the, um, funding obligations for, for town hall and of course, like any of us who own homes or properties in the intervening 20 years, it's not as if there haven't been other, um, renovation needs for for our wonderful building, including what you just mentioned, Steve, the roof, and obviously the big HVAC project and probably several others over the years. But anyway, I did want to mention that given that, um, you brought that up and I think that, um, maybe we can do a little, a little bit of nostalgic, um, uh, updates next year when that when that comes around. Um, the other thing I wanted to mention was to extend on behalf of the board, our well wishes to our Hamilton Select Board colleague, Rosemary Kennedy, who as many of you, I think everybody probably on the on the zoom knows and it was in the Hamilton Wenham news. Um, last week I was pretty badly injured in a, in a really unfortunate accident that occurred in Ipswich. Um, and I know that she is recuperating. Um, is not yet out of the hospital, but thankfully, um, I believe is, you know, on the road to recovery, but just wanted to extend, um, our wishes to her. And I think that Gary may be organizing a card for, um, the Wenham select board members to sign to send to Rosie Kennedy. That was all I had. And so I would pass it on to Gary. If you have any comments.

00:07:53,868	S5:
Yes, I'll have that card available for Saturday morning. But also I'd like to, as we get into December here, the last committee meetings of the calendar year that the chairmen and clerks need to start preparing their annual inputs for the town report soon. That's all I have. Great.

00:08:16,901	S1:
Um, Deirdre. Anything?

00:08:24,801	S6:
Thank you.

00:08:26,501	S1:
Karen.

00:08:28,767	S4:
Just a reminder that we have a large number of children who will be caroling on the 12th, which is a Friday. Um. And anyone who is looking for a little holiday cheer for folks to come to their home can reach out to me directly.

00:08:43,501	S1:
Great.

00:08:43,868	S4:
Thank you. Sooner than later.

00:08:46,667	S1:
Peter.

00:08:48,067	S7:
Yeah. I'm just happy to say that. Or report that the generals football team beat Ipswich.

00:08:54,701	S1:
Yeah. Big victory.

00:08:57,100	S7:
Yeah. They were down at halftime and they just smoked them in the second half.

00:09:04,200	S1:
Great. Um all right. Well thank you. We don't have anything on the consent agenda. Um, and that moves us to, uh, to new business. Uh, we're going to pass over, um, item A, the appointment of the 250th Anniversary Committee. There have been. There's been a change in the prospective appointments to that committee. So we're going to defer that until a future meeting. Which brings us to item B.

00:09:39,901	S1:
Um, tax classification. Steve, do you want to take that?

00:09:43,367	S3:
Yeah. So this is post. This was advertised for 7 p.m. so we could take some quick items. Um, you know, I could do the budget overview. I could do the trash working group overview.

00:09:58,167	S1:
Yeah. Whichever one, whichever one you think makes sense to do before seven.

00:10:02,667	S3:
All right. We might be able to get a couple in now. It's, uh, just take them in order if you want to just go to, uh, to D. Michelle.

00:10:21,767	S3:
So the long and short of it is, I wanted to share what would be, you know, although all budgets technically fall under the select board, these budgets all more specifically under the Select Board's office. So I wanted to just run through this quickly and answer any questions. I can go as much detail as you Want, but basically, um, the budgets, uh, are.

00:10:47,868	S3:
Are contractually obligated driven. So we have, um, we have our union, uh, uh, contractually obligated adjustments. We have 3% non-union cola that the selectboard discussed last year when, uh, aligning with with the union adjustments. And then if you scroll to, um, so you'll see all the salary lines are 3% if you go down to the town hall budget.

00:11:22,267	S3:
Well, what we're doing here is we're slowly ratcheting down on the utility reserve. Um, which was, if you remember, it originally started out at $100,000 about three years ago when, um, Utilities started to go crazy. And, you know, the forecasting amounts were, depending on what you read, 80 to 100% increase over and over a number of months, so that luckily that didn't come true, although they have increased significantly. So we've been reducing the utility reserve slowly over the last few years and building into the budgets, budget, each budget and town hall being one of them because it's a building, the the actual utility expenditures, which was always the plan. The idea with the utility reserve was to be able to, um, you know, kind of remain in control of the money and not have it spread out through, you know, half a dozen different facility accounts to see what the utilities did. And as things kind of streamlined, uh, smoothed out, and we could have a better idea of predicting the future. Uh, we've been slowly moving that back into the utility accounts and, um, you know, other than that, it is, uh. Really just some adjustments to, um, accommodate the increasing costs to. Provide town meeting with the, you know, additional needs for added a, um, av equipment and, and, um, you know, electronic voting in the rest of it is, uh, is held flat. And with that, I believe there are no other changes. All the expenses are level funded, with the exception of utilities in the ion rail. Um, any any questions that anybody has?

00:13:23,767	S1:
None here. Anybody else?

00:13:28,467	S3:
There is no vote needed or anything. I just didn't want it to be the first time you saw it was on Saturday morning. So any questions that you know you had or changes that you requested. We could take care of it between now and then.

00:13:43,000	S1:
Great.

00:13:46,100	S1:
All right. Do you want to do the trash contract next? Yep.

00:13:51,801	S3:
So that we formed some time ago, a trash working group. Um, that was made up of, uh, a couple Finicum members, uh, myself, Ben Time and Karen Anger. Uh, Jeff Soulard, um, Joe Amato. And basically what what we set out originally, if you go back about three years ago, the the projection from Casella, who is our current provider, was about 80% increase, uh, when we had to renew the contract. Uh, that wasn't really far outside of what some other communities were seeing when they were renewing that. You got to remember, this is a ten year contract and the world of, you know, waste management disposal has changed significantly in ten years. So that wasn't outside, um, you know, the realm of possibilities. So we took that increase seriously and formed the working group and decided to, uh, you know, to help work through our different options. And, you know, initially we were expecting to do an RFP, and we were expecting to have to amend our services that we receive from our service provider and that, you know, a reduction in the amount of trash you can throw out, uh, implementing some sort of fee for service program to offset the increase. Uh, and those are the types of things we started looking at. However, you know, as we got closer in the market coming out of Covid has kind of smoothed out a little bit. And, you know, we all learned a lot about the waste disposal business and looking at the landscape out there, there's really only three providers that can, um, uh, provide the level of service that that Wenham has, has come to enjoy. That's Casella, which, like I said, is our current vendor, Republic Services, which I'm sure everyone is aware of because a lot of the surrounding communities have Republic and they just, um, uh, or had an extended strike where uh, services were significantly disrupted and still remain disrupted to this day, even though the strike, the strike has been resolved. And then Hiltz, which was actually a the vendor that the town of Wenham and Hamilton were in contract with, uh, prior to Casella when Hiltz to determine that the contract was not profitable for them and broke the contract and walked away from the services. And that's when, uh, Hamilton and Wenham, uh, had a scramble and, uh, contracted with Casella. So, you know, in addition to, uh, republics. Um, you know, uh, labor problems, they're also significantly more expensive. Uh, and on top of, uh, just the service delivery expenses and the trash disposal being more expensive. They also have told us that they're looking at a 12 to 18 month, uh, back, um, uh, logistical issue with the with the trucks. So they would from the time we were awarded, they would need 12 to 18 months to secure the trash trucks. And when we would have to pay between 30 and $40,000 a month to lease trucks in the interim. Um, and, you know, and then at the end of the day, the, the overall increase working with Casella, who we have an existing relationship with and from, really from all accounts, it's a good relationship. Of course, you know, some hiccups happen and problems and we do receive some complaints, but Casella really does go above and beyond, um, in trying to make things right. And, uh, so, you know, we, the trash working group has reviewed this memo that I sent to the select board and all the all the points in it. And you know, also that a little bit of the high level I just provided and has determined that they believe that the best course of action for the Select board to take is to, uh, continue to negotiate directly with Casella and not forego an RFP process, given the relationship we already enjoy with them and want to continue that relationship and where our our preliminary research has indicated that Casella is the most competitive in price. Um, and we're looking at, at least initially, about a 20% increase in year one with a 5% escalator in years two through five. And, um, we've been planning on an increase much larger than that. So we have been shifting free cash over the last few years into our stabilization fund in anticipation of a large increase. So with those funds will be we have a funding scheme that will be able to, um, essentially step into the increase over a number of years, usually using a small amount of free cash in a decreasing schedule over 3 or 4 years that will allow us to fit the increase within our proposition two and a half levy limit. So from this meeting, I'm looking for the select board, um, to, I guess, allow me to move forward with the contracting process, uh, with Casella directly, uh, in, in partnership with Hamilton. Um, and uh, to start to solidify that contract.

00:19:16,000	S7:
So, Steve, I mean, that's a big deal. I mean, we thought it was going to be much worse than what you're currently presenting to us.

00:19:24,567	S3:
Agreed? Yeah. It's very rarely do you get news on when it comes in. Less than you expect.

00:19:32,567	S7:
I mean, for two years now, we've been. We've been, like, worrying about this trash deal.

00:19:39,000	S3:
Yeah. I mean, it's still a bit. 20% is still a big increase. But yes, it's much less than than we anticipated. And a big part of it was, if, you know, if you go back feels like Covid was forever ago, but if you go back 2 or 3 years, um, you know, the world was kind of still upside down with the logistical nightmares with the shipping. And where are we going to put the trash and labor shortages and all of that. So, uh, we're just lucky that things have kind of settled down and, you know, came back down into a more reasonable or at least an increase that we can manage.

00:20:15,367	S1:
So you say you say Lucky Steve, but really, um, it was a lot of talent and skill and diligence on your part. Jeff. Soulard. Rich. Suzanne. If I'm missing anybody I know, Joe, you were involved in the in it as well. I apologize if I missed anybody, but but being on the working group and we were just getting updates from from you folks on how this was going. And I was perpetually impressed by the work that you guys did. And, um, as Peter said, I mean, it's it's a huge relief and the fact that we're going to have level services for that period of time at an at a cost increase, that's much, much, much, much lower than we expected is really a credit to the hard work that you and your team did. So, um, all the credit really goes to, uh, to you and the team.

00:21:09,701	S7:
I agree.

00:21:12,601	S1:
Gary. Jimmy.

00:21:14,367	S5:
Good question. Steve said the final contract, you know, the service comes to both Hamilton, Wenham. But do each town have its own contract at the endpoint?

00:21:28,000	S3:
My understanding is it will be.

00:21:32,801	S3:
Similar to now it's one contract, but the services are spelled out in the pricing schedule is is separate in the appendix.

00:21:43,367	S5:
Very well. And what's the.

00:21:45,701	S3:
Bill? The bills are separate. Like they don't we don't pay a like a combined bill with Hamilton. We have our own deal, you know. And then that will remain to be the same. But I'm pretty sure we're thinking back that the overarching contract in all the costing is in one, one, one big contract.

00:22:04,968	S5:
So the current contract runs out. When and when do we expect to sign the new one?

00:22:09,567	S3:
The contract runs out on June 30th, so we expect and need to sign the new one at some point between now and then.

00:22:19,100	S5:
Thank you.

00:22:20,100	S3:
You know. And just just for folks who, you know, weren't part of the working group. And on this call, we did look at separating Hamilton and Wenham and doing our own thing. You know, if, if that was advantageous to the town, however, um, there is a huge, um, incentives to keep the contract together. Uh, both in economies of scale from, um, you know, them being able to, uh, staff a, you know, a labor force five days a week where, you know, Wenham occupies two days in Hamilton, given its size occupies three and the ability to, um, spread out the capital cap cost, uh, for purchasing all the equipment over, uh, the two communities. Because in either situation with both vendors, uh, dedicated trucks would be purchased for the contract, and they depreciate those over, over the life of the contract. So you can see, you know, would be picking up 100% of the depreciation that would be reflected in RFP. In this case where we're picking up, um, our share of whatever one of the two. Two out of three, about 60% to 40% of the capital appreciation. So it certainly made a lot of sense from a financial standpoint.

00:23:44,567	S1:
Are there any other questions or comments from members of the board? Seeing none. Uh, Joe, is there anybody online who has their hand up to comment on this?

00:23:55,567	S2:
No, there is not.

00:23:57,467	S1:
All right. Great. Would someone like to read the motion.

00:24:00,300	S8:
And I'll close to that today. Well, I.

00:24:11,100	S1:
Would entertain A motion to.

00:24:15,167	S6:
I'm ready. Ben.

00:24:16,467	S1:
Okay. Thank you. Deirdre. Go ahead.

00:24:18,567	S6:
Move to approve negotiation with Casella regarding the regional solid waste contract. In lieu of issuing an RFP.

00:24:27,567	S5:
Jerry. Seconds.

00:24:29,501	S1:
All right. We have a motion and a second. Thank you. Roll call. Vote. Karen.

00:24:33,567	S4:
Yes.

00:24:34,367	S1:
Peter.

00:24:35,100	S7:
Yes.

00:24:35,901	S1:
Deirdre.

00:24:36,767	S6:
Yes.

00:24:37,501	S1:
Gary.

00:24:38,267	S5:
Yes.

00:24:39,067	S1:
And Ben is. Yes. All right. Thanks. So it's now, um, 555. Do we have anything short that we could fit in, Steve? Or.

00:24:48,000	S3:
I believe that the draft letter, uh, expressing support for the Affordable housing Trust requests to the community Preservation committee for 24 Cherry Street will be quick.

00:24:59,767	S1:
Great. Okay, that'd be great.

00:25:03,767	S3:
Michelle. Uh, item G.

00:25:06,100	S1:
And I'm at 655. My apologies. Um, yes. So let's go ahead and do that.

00:25:18,000	S1:
Is there anything to present on that buy or should we just.

00:25:22,868	S3:
Yeah. We just I'm just, um, we just scrolling down to the memo. Okay, so basically this is a memo we'd like to send to the CPC. Uh, on behalf of the Select board, I don't know if anybody got a chance to read it, but effectively, what it is is the one affordable housing trust. It plans on submitting an application requesting $300,000 from the CPC, which is $100,000 a unit, to redevelop 24 Cherry Street. You know, as we've we've talked a lot about it, but to make the, um, economics work in an affordable housing development, uh, typically they need, um, you know, additional funding, either through straight state grants or, you know, in this case, the Affordable Housing Trust. And we believe that the economics will work if the state is to dispose of the property for a dollar to an appropriate developer that develops affordable housing, and the Affordable Housing trust is able to raise between 80 and $100,000 per unit. We think that it will just work in combination with some grants for first time homebuyer, affordable home, affordable housing that's through the state right now. Um, that will we'll be able to make that work. So, um, this is just a letter expressing support for that project from the Select board memo. Excuse me.

00:26:50,100	S1:
Great. Um, would anyone like to. Well, are there any members of the board or members of the public, Joe, um, who have their hands up?

00:27:03,000	S2:
Um, no members from the public.

00:27:05,701	S1:
All right. Anybody on the board who wants to comment on this or has a question?

00:27:10,968	S6:
I think it's great.

00:27:12,367	S5:
Yes.

00:27:13,367	S1:
Great. Would someone like to make the motion.

00:27:16,801	S6:
That moved to approve draft letter expressing support for the Affordable Housing Trust's request to the Community Preservation Committee for funding to assist in the development of affordable housing at 24 Cherry Street in Wenham.

00:27:31,667	S5:
Jerry seconds.

00:27:33,667	S1:
All right. Great. We'll take a roll call. Peter. Yes, Deirdre. Yes, Gary.

00:27:38,767	S5:
Yes.

00:27:39,601	S1:
Karen.

00:27:40,200	S4:
Yes.

00:27:40,868	S1:
And Ben is. Yes. That's great. Okay. Um. All right. Now it is 658 by my clock. And why don't we?

00:27:51,667	S3:
Yeah, I.

00:27:51,868	S5:
Think.

00:27:52,567	S1:
Just take a pause and have them start the tax classification hearing. Steve, does that make sense?

00:27:57,601	S3:
Yeah, I think that makes perfect sense. Mr. Waddell is here on behalf of the board of assessors. Um, to make the presentation. Our chief assessor, Terry Fontaine, is traveling and is stuck in Florida due to inclement weather.

00:28:16,367	S9:
Do you? Actually, Terry is on.

00:28:18,300	S3:
Oh.

00:28:18,567	S9:
She is? Yes.

00:28:19,667	S3:
Oh. She's presenting.

00:28:21,601	S9:
I believe so.

00:28:22,701	S3:
Okay. All right. Hey. See you later, Frank. Have a good night.

00:28:29,367	S1:
All right. Great. Well, we're one minute before the time. I think we can probably get started, and we'll have some exchange, some pleasantries for a minute before we get into the meat of it. So, uh, Terry's going to present.

00:28:44,000	S10:
Yes. Am I? Um. Can you hear me?

00:28:46,701	S1:
Yes.

00:28:47,367	S10:
Okay. Terrific. Uh. Thank you. Um, chair, Timon and members of the Select board for your time this evening. Um, also, I would like to thank, uh, town administration Steve Poulos, Joe Amato, and Michelle McGovern for their help this evening and throughout the year, and of course, the Board of Assessors. Chair John Buko, clerk of the board Lisa Craig. And a big thank you to Vice Chair Patrick Waddell, who agreed to step up and fill in for me this evening. Um, fortunately, that wasn't necessary, but he was prepared and willing. Um, so as the Select board has been through at least one of these, I think I will try to be as brief as possible. And, um, if necessary, I can elaborate or answer any questions that might come up. Um, but nothing much has changed with the procedure or with the data that would affect the voting tonight. So the Department of Revenue has, um, certified Venom's assessed values, and that allows us to have the classification hearing this evening. Uh, the next step after the board takes its votes this evening will be for the Department of Revenue to set the tax rate. I think it's important to note to the public that the Select board does not set the tax rate. That's the Department of Revenue. Um. On the next slide, you'll see the four options that the Select board will vote on this evening. Michel, if you don't mind. Thank you. Um, I'm not going to elaborate here because they are, um, on the subsequent slides and have greater detail. So the next slide shows the residential factor that the board will vote on this evening. That's arguably the most important one. Um, people refer to it as splitting the tax rate or having a single tax rate. Uh, historically, one of them has had a residential factor of one, meaning a single tax rate among residential properties and commercial, industrial and personal property. Uh, the board of assessors certainly recommends a single tax rate, a residential factor of one. Um, as we have historically done. Hamilton, Manchester and Topsfield all have a single tax rate. Danvers and Beverly, which are abutting communities with a larger commercial base, do split the tax rate. But as you see on the slide, Wenham only has about 3% of its taxable value in commercial, industrial and personal property. The next slide shows some scenarios. If we did shift the rate and you can see if you shift it to the max at 50%, uh, the the average residential property would only save a little over $200 on their tax bill for the year. And the average commercial property would it would cost them almost $5,000 more than what they would already be paying. So certainly that could drive out businesses, and therefore the Board of assessors does not recommend. Well, the Board of Assessors recommends a residential factor of one. If there are any questions. Otherwise the Select Board could vote on this option now.

00:32:11,167	S1:
Are there any questions or comments from members of the board as to the residential factor of one issue? Seeing none of the three members of the public Joe who have their hands up.

00:32:25,167	S2:
There is not.

00:32:27,167	S1:
All right. Great. So, Terry, would you recommend that we, um, just vote right now on on that issue and then we're going to move on to open space and the other things separately. Is that right?

00:32:38,801	S10:
I think the four options should be voted on separately. Okay.

00:32:44,000	S1:
All right. I'd entertain a motion to select a residential factor of one for Wyndham's. Um, fy.

00:32:53,868	S1:
20. What?

00:32:57,267	S10:
26.

00:32:58,167	S1:
Thank you. Sorry. 26 tax classification.

00:33:06,000	S1:
Is there a motion? Uh, Deirdre moves a second here.

00:33:11,367	S5:
Three seconds.

00:33:12,667	S1:
Great. I will take a roll call. Peter.

00:33:21,267	S1:
Darren.

00:33:22,868	S4:
Yes.

00:33:24,267	S1:
Deirdre.

00:33:25,000	S6:
Yes.

00:33:26,167	S1:
Gary.

00:33:27,000	S5:
Yes.

00:33:28,300	S1:
And I think Peter has stepped away. Uh, Ben votes. Yes. So we can now move on to the next part of your presentation. Terry.

00:33:37,868	S10:
Thank you. The open space discount is very simple. The Board of Assessors has determined that there are no, uh, parcels in Wenham, that, um, that would, um, apply, that this discount would apply to any of the parcels that we have that are vacant are either under a conservation restriction that's permanent or in chapter land. So the Board of Assessors does not recommend the open space discount be adopted.

00:34:10,767	S1:
All right. Any comments or questions from the board on that issue?

00:34:15,100	S4:
I have a quick question. By not adopting it, um, or I guess by by not voting for it, what what is the implications for that? I understand that it currently, as of today doesn't apply, but if we don't vote for it, um, like what's the what would be the issue?

00:34:35,801	S10:
Sure. So the um, option has to be voted on each year. So if next year circumstances should change, then um, it could be it could be adopted for FY 27. Um, but just so the board select board is aware in the public. There were only open space parcels that have discounts in Beverly, Rowley and Newburyport. Um, Beverly is right on the ocean. I it's one of the beaches, um, in Newburyport. It's on Plum Island, a couple of parcels. And in Rowley it's along the river. So they're all waterfront properties? Um, none of the other communities in Essex County adopt the open space discount.

00:35:23,767	S4:
By not adopting an open space discount. Does that inhibit us from having any accessibility to any grants or anything moving forward for the year?

00:35:33,267	S10:
Not that I'm aware of.

00:35:35,467	S4:
So it's not a no.

00:35:37,567	S10:
I. I highly doubt it.

00:35:42,167	S1:
Steve, did you want to comment on that?

00:35:43,567	S3:
Yeah, it's a no.

00:35:45,868	S10:
Thank you Steve.

00:35:46,868	S9:
Yeah.

00:35:49,467	S1:
Any other comments or questions from the board on this issue?

00:35:54,667	S1:
Okay. I don't see any other any members of the public, um, Joe, who have their hands up?

00:35:59,567	S2:
No, sir.

00:36:01,901	S1:
All right. Um.

00:36:04,501	S6:
Move to not adopt an open space discount.

00:36:08,767	S5:
Jerry. Seconds.

00:36:10,501	S1:
All right, we'll take a roll call. Gary.

00:36:13,067	S5:
Yes.

00:36:13,601	S1:
Deirdre.

00:36:14,467	S6:
Yes.

00:36:15,100	S1:
Karen.

00:36:15,868	S4:
Yes.

00:36:16,801	S1:
Peter.

00:36:19,701	S1:
Peter stepped away. Ben is a yes. So that passes. All right. Uh, the residential exemption, Terry?

00:36:25,467	S10:
Yes. So the residential exemption. Um, the Select Board could vote to adopt a residential exemption of any amount up to 35%. This would shift the tax burden from properties that are owner occupied onto properties that are either second homes or rented. Um, this is typically found in communities like Nantucket, Cambridge, um, where they have a significant number of second homes or rental properties. So for Wenham, it doesn't really make sense. Um, and the Board of Assessors recommends, uh, not adopting a residential exemption.

00:37:08,000	S1:
Right. May, may.

00:37:12,567	S1:
Raise an issue. Perhaps not now, but in the future of maybe taking taking stock of how many residences are used in the manner that you either as second homes or as rental properties or Airbnbs, that sort of sort of thing, which I think technically we don't have a bylaw that permits that. But, um, it does raise an interesting point that if we ever got to the place where there were, there was some, um, Critical mass of non non owner occupied residences that it might be worth understanding what that is. And then it might factor into this um analysis down the line.

00:38:01,567	S10:
Yeah. The percentage of properties would have to be significantly high in order to make it an effective uh shift of the tax burden.

00:38:10,400	S1:
Make sense? Okay.

00:38:11,767	S4:
Do we currently know the number of homes or residential properties that fall under, um, um, rental properties or non owner occupied?

00:38:24,467	S10:
Um, I don't have that at my fingertips. I'm sorry.

00:38:27,901	S3:
And just it's just like a piece of information. So the board is aware that if you were to adopt a residential exemption, um, you know, owner occupied or not, like, let's assume in this situation it's owner occupied, because I believe that's, you know, obviously all the board members here live in the town. And the way this works is you take for easy math. You take, let's say, $100,000 exemption and you apply it to every home in the town of Windham, and you reduce your total asset class by that amount. So if you have, you know, if you have a, you know, a thousand times 100,000 exemption reductions and then you recalculate the you recalculate your residential tax rate. So by reducing the total value of the homes by the 100,000, you've increased your tax rate. So your tax rate just for the sake of conversation goes from $15 per thousand to $17 per thousand. Now that works out to a net tax reduction for homes below approximately the midpoint, because now you have a home that is, you know, $400,000 assessed, -$100,000 times a higher tax rate. So if you were to, you know, in the scenario before, it would be $400,000 times a $15 tax rate. Now it's $300,000 times a $17 tax rate. So that works out a net tax reduction. But as you move towards the midpoint, you approach a break even point where the taxes are the same in both scenarios, either without the exemption and with even though you're receiving the exemption, you're still paying the same amount of taxes because of your home's value. But if you pass that midpoint, it actually becomes the tax burden shift onto the higher value homes, the ones above the median. So you know, in in Wenham we have a pretty evenly spread tax base. So you have roughly, you know, a half of your tax base would actually see, although you're trying to benefit residents of the town, you actually would be voting in a tax increase not only to the people who rent their homes, but to people who are above the midpoint.

00:40:47,067	S1:
That's important information to have if we ever. If we face that, that while we guess we technically face the choice now though, the recommendation clearly is that we not adopt the residential exemption. Um, are there any other comments or questions for members of the board on the residential exemption? Seeing none, Joe. Anybody with their hand up?

00:41:09,667	S2:
No.

00:41:11,167	S1:
All right. Great. I would someone like to read the motion. Deirdre. Looks like you're prepared to do it.

00:41:16,200	S6:
Move to not adopt a residential exemption.

00:41:20,167	S5:
Jerry. Seconds.

00:41:22,167	S1:
All right. Thank you. Peter.

00:41:24,400	S7:
Yes.

00:41:25,601	S1:
Gary.

00:41:26,667	S5:
Yes.

00:41:27,767	S1:
Karen.

00:41:28,267	S4:
Yes.

00:41:29,100	S1:
Deirdre.

00:41:29,801	S6:
Yes.

00:41:30,400	S1:
And Ben is. Yes. All right. Thank you very much. And that brings us to our the final of the fourth.

00:41:40,067	S10:
Yes. So the small commercial exemption is very similar to the residential exemption. Um, in this case we have 15 parcels in Wenham that are commercial or industrial properties. So basically you would be taking, um, the shift and shifting from the smaller of those 15 parcels onto the larger commercial properties within that group of 15. Um, so certainly it's not it would not be an effective exemption, um, in that case. So the Board of Assessors does not recommend adoption of the small commercial exemption.

00:42:19,767	S1:
Thank you. Any questions or comments from members of the board?

00:42:24,767	S1:
Joe. Anybody? Oh, Karen. Go ahead.

00:42:26,467	S4:
Sorry. I just have a quick question. So you're looking at not having the tax burden on the small businesses. Um, moved over to the large businesses because you're afraid that the large businesses aren't going to come into town?

00:42:40,100	S10:
No, that's that's the, um, residential factor. This is you would be shifting the burden from the smaller, um, properties that are, uh, classified as commercial onto some of the larger properties, uh, say 225 Main Street, uh, 300 Main Street. Um, it's just not effective. I did not prepare a slide with, um, with some of the numbers, which I certainly could do for next year. Um, to show you what that shift would look like.

00:43:12,100	S4:
Um, my only concern is, is that the majority, I mean, 99% of the businesses that we have in town are small businesses. And so if we can provide a little bit of tax relief towards the small businesses because we don't have a large commercial base other than maybe 1 or 2. Um, you know, I'd like to be able to give that small business property some tax relief okay.

00:43:36,767	S10:
It would. So the exemption would not apply to the business owner. It would be the property. Um, whether or not the property owner would pass that on to, um, the business owner. If, if, if they're not one and the same, I don't know.

00:43:55,767	S4:
Okay. And if they are the same, then we're not allowing them a tax relief to have the small business within when and where they could easily go anywhere else because they have a a larger base.

00:44:10,667	S3:
But, you know, the shift is the exemption is shifted on to the other businesses is the key point. You similar to the residential exemption, you recalculate the rate, the commercial rate will go up and you'll reduce the value of the buildings that house a small business. So you know, like the one next to, um, the cheese shop I believe is leased out by a couple tenants so they wouldn't see any reduction. They don't pay taxes, they pay a lease. So the owner that rents to them will, you know, just a theory that they that they, um, they qualify would see a small reduction in taxes. But from, you know, case studies we've looked at and assessing that, you know, generally the landlords don't pass on any of the savings to the small businesses you're trying to help.

00:45:07,801	S4:
We only have like 5 or 6 in town. Does anybody ask them.

00:45:10,501	S3:
So you would have. So it would be the entire burden that is exempted on these small, just so you know, exempted on these small businesses will be shifted to whatever other business remains in town. You will be increasing their tax rate. And so not a zero sum game.

00:45:29,567	S1:
But what's the um, What? What's the what's the measure by which it's determined? Who is entitled to the exemption? The value of the commercial property. What? How do. How does one qualify?

00:45:44,267	S3:
I believe that you have to be, um, a a corporation and have less than seven employees. And there's a there's other qualifications that the state has to certify. I don't have those in front of me.

00:46:03,000	S1:
Yeah, right. But I think I think Karen raises a good point, and I'd certainly be interested to know whether I mean, because you're saying, theoretically that this would be shifted on to the businesses that don't qualify as small businesses, but it'd be I think it would be useful to know a who are the what, who are the business property owners, obviously that that information we have. But which of them wouldn't qualify. And we're talking about We're talking about property owners on the one hand, who, as you point out, aren't. Often aren't the operators of the business to the landlord. But then you're saying that one of the criteria is a certain number of employees for the business, which would involve the tenant? I realized that that's a different discussion than whether the savings will be passed on from landlord to commercial tenant. But I'd certainly it would be interesting to know whether, you know, whether there are property owners in Wenham who would not qualify for this. It sounds like you think that there might be, but.

00:47:08,100	S10:
Also if, um, if 225 Main Street and 300 Main Street, for example, all of the businesses that are there, like Steve said, they pay a lease. So if the property owner is now faced with a significantly higher tax bill, that's going to affect the leases of all of those businesses, because of course, the property owner is going to pass that along, um, to the tenants.

00:47:35,267	S1:
We're not, we're not, uh, we're not painting property owners in a very positive way tonight. They're never going to pass on the savings, but they're always going to pass on the increased cost. Maybe, maybe there's truth to that.

00:47:46,100	S3:
We can do some modeling.

00:47:47,167	S9:
Yeah, they.

00:47:47,868	S3:
Can do some modeling for next time.

00:47:49,868	S1:
Um, I see Gary. Gary's hand is up. Gary.

00:47:52,267	S5:
So, Terry, I think you said that all we're talking about is 15 properties here, so I don't see the word penalizing. You know, the bottom five to the, you know, giving a break to the bottom five to penalize the top five. I think we'd be spending too much administrative time for just a minuscule change in their rates and between a handful of properties. So let's just keep it as it is.

00:48:17,567	S6:
I agree with Gary.

00:48:20,200	S4:
Yeah.

00:48:21,067	S7:
So do I.

00:48:22,567	S4:
Unfortunately, I'm not able to to respond to this because we don't have the numbers. We don't have an idea of what the property owners would do. And being that there's only 15. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't do our due diligence and ask that before coming here. And I'm looking for a, um, looking for a vote. Um, there's no way that without that information, we can determine how it is that we're going to potentially help support any business or any business. Um, property owner.

00:48:54,167	S5:
I don't think you're supporting the business owner. If you tax the lower the higher portion or the lower portion, you know, I mean, what justification do you have to say? You small five ones get a break in the big five, don't you know. So it's it's a transfer within that group of 15. So I don't see the board, you know, penalizing a few of those for the others.

00:49:18,100	S10:
Historically.

00:49:19,067	S6:
Commission someone has to pay more. It's not an exemption across the board. Right. So someone gets penalized. And I'm not in favor of penalizing any of our businesses. And also, I'll just point out that this has been reviewed every year by the board of assessors, and this is their recommendation.

00:49:38,601	S4:
I'm well aware of that. Thank you. And obviously we're trying to keep the the tax breaks for the small business owners as much as possible. Being that we do not have a large commercial property and options for anyone else to come in. The only options we have are for small businesses to come into town just because we don't have the real estate. So if we're. My thought process is if we're going to have to shift anything. Yeah. You do want to be able to to provide tax relief to the small businesses, because at the end of the day, they're the ones who are going to be able to support the town and the, the commercial, um, setup that we have here. So, um, without the exact information, unfortunately, I can't make a response.

00:50:20,868	S10:
So by, by keeping a residential factor of one and not shifting the tax rate, um, keeping a consistent tax rate between residential and commercial properties, you are essentially giving the commercial properties a break there. They're paying the same tax rate as the residential property owners. Um, and, and it's a similar instance where it doesn't make sense with the sheer number of residential properties we have and, and the very few commercial industrial parcels that we have, it follows the same logic, I believe.

00:50:59,901	S1:
I just I just have one one final question on this myself and I, I clearly need to educate myself better on this, but is it is it the case that if we were to adopt a small business exemption, is it the case that we know for sure that there are some businesses in the town of Wenham, some commercial property owners in the town of Wenham who would not qualify for that, and who therefore would pay a higher amount because it's a zero sum game within the amongst the 15 property owners, I don't. Gary, you mentioned the big five and the small five. I just don't I don't I haven't heard anything that leads me where I feel like I know that that's the breakdown that that that categorization has occurred. But there's but I need to I need better education on it.

00:51:54,000	S10:
So there say a parcel on Topsfield Road that is, um, classified as industrial. It's mixed use residential. Industrial. Um, that would not qualify um, with the Department of Revenue standards, um, or the the qualifications set of business would have to meet. They would not qualify. That's one of you your 15 right there. Um, also, the exemption is only up to 10%, and it's the, um, of the eligible parcels. So 10% of the value. Uh, we're not talking about a significant savings.

00:52:34,767	S2:
Okay.

00:52:36,367	S1:
Any other questions or comments from members of the board?

00:52:41,167	S1:
Seeing none. Joe, is anybody in the public who has their hand up?

00:52:45,000	S2:
No.

00:52:46,868	S1:
All right. And thank you, Terry and Steve, for, you know, for addressing these these questions. It's a good discussion. And maybe that next year we we do want to have some more modeling or something along those lines. Um, but with with that I would entertain a motion.

00:53:02,367	S6:
Move to not adopt a small commercial exemption.

00:53:05,968	S5:
Very second.

00:53:07,701	S1:
All right. We'll take a roll call. Karen.

00:53:09,501	S4:
No.

00:53:11,000	S1:
Peter.

00:53:11,868	S7:
Yes.

00:53:12,901	S1:
Gary.

00:53:13,567	S5:
Yes.

00:53:14,567	S1:
Deirdre.

00:53:15,400	S6:
Yes.

00:53:16,267	S1:
And Ben is. Yes. All right. Thank you very much, Terry. Appreciate the presentation. Is there anything else that we should, um, be looking at tonight on this?

00:53:27,400	S10:
No, just that the LA five will need to be signed by the board of assessors and also, um, town administration and select board.

00:53:36,200	S1:
Great.

00:53:36,868	S10:
Okay. Thank you very much.

00:53:38,367	S1:
Thank you very much. Thanks a lot. Good night. Um. All right, that moves us to item C, which is, um, when I'm climate action committee action. Um, who's going to present that? Deirdre, are you going to take that one?

00:53:55,467	S3:
No, I can.

00:53:56,601	S1:
I can.

00:53:56,868	S3:
Give you my Muted oh no I'm not. Um so yeah. So uh the Climate Action Committee is here. And I believe they brought with them a presenter. And what this started out as a couple weeks ago was going to be a just a review of the stretch code. As the Select Board has discussed and incorporated into the goals and objectives they wanted us to start exploring. Um, you know what goes into being designated a climate leader by the state of Massachusetts? And one of the things that are required to be a climate leader is to adopt the stretch code. Uh, however, um, I believe the Climate Action Committee has prepared a much more comprehensive presentation that covers a number of different areas that are required in the, um, to become a climate leader, to kind of where where we are today and what types of what type of work needs to be done to get there. So, you know, I guess I'll start before, uh, you know, uh, bring Lucy McGovern over to start the presentation is, you know, just from a stretch code standpoint, you know, in a staff perspective. I feel like, you know, I'll represent, you know, Rich. Maloney drafted that letter to to myself to pass on to the select board. I'm not sure if anybody had had an opportunity to read it, but, you know, the short of it is that, you know, he's in large support of maintaining uniformity in the state building code, that the state the building code does typically, uh, over time, um, come up to speed or come up to, um, come up in and match the, the green initiatives that are presented in the stretch code. And also his concern for the additional costs that will be have to be borne by the developers or people building a new home in town, or even, uh, people at putting in addition, I think a lot of, um, you know, something that he pointed out to me and I didn't realize that, you know, if you put on an edition of A thousand. It was 1000ft² or more that you have to bring the entire residence, regardless of its size, up to code, to meet the entire energy code, which could be, you know, is it extremely costly? And then there is a Doe E.R. report that is out there that, um.

00:56:31,100	S8:
What about Sal and Megan?

00:56:33,367	S3:
I mean, uh, the Doe report that is also in the packet that I will go through it. But basically, you know, in some of the grants are changing and the math saves, so some some might be not quite as expensive, some might be a little bit more expensive. But the end result of the report is that, you know, that these changes do increase the cost of.

00:56:54,100	S1:
Excuse me. Steve. Excuse me. Steve, sorry to interrupt, but could everyone who's not speaking, um, mute their microphones because there's some background noise, um, intruding into the meeting. All right, Steve, keep going. Thanks.

00:57:09,767	S3:
Yeah. So basically, the report, um, you know, is although the numbers might change a plus or minus depending on the category of what the the next year's grants are going to be doing in the massive rebates. Uh, it does provide a pretty clear picture that it will the cost of construction, both in remodeling additions and new constructions, uh, would increase as a result of adopting the stretch code. And I'm not speaking against it. I'm just, you know, providing information that was passed on to me, uh, for the board to make their own decision. But I know that, uh, Lucy McGovern is here tonight. And, you know, Lucy, if you want to want to kick it off, I know you've presented a lot. You have put together a lot of material that you want to go through tonight.

00:57:56,167	S9:
Sure.

00:57:57,467	S4:
Great.

00:57:57,901	S11:
Can you hear me?

00:57:59,300	S2:
Yes.

00:58:00,100	S11:
Good. Um. Yes. Lucy McGovern. Um, I'm the chair of the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee. And thank you for the invitation to come and discuss when IBM's application to be certified as a climate leader community. So back in September, uh, the committee, uh, wrote a memo to the board, to the select board requesting your approval for the committee to move forward with the application. And in that memo, we summarized the reason why we thought it was in Wyndham's best interest to move forward. And we highlighted the application key requirements, some of which we had already met. Today, we're fortunate to have with us Dillon Patel, who is the Northeast regional coordinator for Green Communities, which is under the Massachusetts Department of Energy. He's able to present a more complete description of the program. The application process and the benefits, and even to address some of the questions concerning the stretch code. Before I hand it over to Dylan, um, who has a presentation, uh, I want to remind the board that the committee is still is is seeking approval to complete the application, which may require a warrant. I also want to note that some of the members of the Hamilton Environmental Impact Committee are in attendance, as that committee is also seeking approval to move forward with Hamilton becoming a climate leader community. And we believe having the two towns align, um, can only help in our ability to meet our climate goals, especially as we share some of the same resources. So, um, if Dylan is able to present, I don't, um. He can. Perhaps he can start. See?

01:00:14,601	S12:
Thank you very much, Lucy. And, uh, thank you. Members of the Wenham Select Board. Um, I'm going to go ahead and share my screen. I do have a fairly, um, long, uh, presentation, but, um, to be respectful of people's time, I will try and, um, kind of go faster in certain respects and kind of pause more in, um, on more important topics. Did, uh, I just need to get approval for sharing the screen, and it should be all set.

01:00:51,601	S12:
Okay.

01:00:54,667	S12:
So as Lucy was mentioning, um, my name is Dylan Patel. Um, I am with the Green Communities Division of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. I served the northeast region, including the the town of Wenham, and, um, I'm just going to. There we go. Um, I'm going to briefly talk about the Green Communities Division, which I'm sure a lot of people are already familiar with, and then talk a little bit more about the requirements to become a climate leader and the benefits of being a climate leader. Some reason why cost is a little bit. There you go. So, um, Wenham was one of the original, uh, green communities. Uh, it was the first, uh, one of the first green communities way back in 2010. Um, and since, uh, and in the past 15 years, we have really grown across all four corners of the Commonwealth. We now reached nearly 300 municipalities, and we are growing every year. Um, we we recognize our growth. We recognize our maturity. We continue to offer. Um, what is our bread and butter? Our energy efficiency. Um, and electrification grants both to new green communities like Redding and to veteran green communities like Wenham. But we also recognize that the state is moving forward and climate change is a real threat now. Um, and therefore we want to help communities, um, achieve the same kind of goals that the Commonwealth is working towards. And that's why we've launched the Climate Leaders Program, which is available for municipalities to achieve the next level of criteria, which I will talk about in the next few slides. Um, so overall 15 years we have really, uh, proven our worth. We have awarded nearly $200 million in grants across the Commonwealth. This has, um, real impacts, both in terms of energy reduction, greenhouse gas reduction and importantly, reducing the operational budgets or operational expenses across many municipalities. We've also achieved substantial energy reductions across 72 municipalities. And on top of that, um, very tangible quality of life improvements by having improved technology in these buildings.

01:03:30,868	S12:
So Wednesday's journey has been quite long. Um, and to enter the Green Communities program, it started with your designation grant back in 2010. And since then you've been awarded, as you are all aware, eight competitive grants culminating in, um, your decarbonisation grant of $500,000 for the town hall. Um, over time, you've made incremental improvements in energy efficiency across your municipal portfolio and including the regional school district, making you very well placed for electrification and a lot of your buildings. And obviously you've already achieved that with your Council on Aging and with your town hall. Um. So sorry. Um, in terms of the why we've launched the Climate Leaders program, it really builds on our success with the Green Communities program, and it helps us align, um, our resources with what the Commonwealth is moving towards with our statewide goals to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We want to provide those resources in a way that also engages the community, as well as, uh, provides, um, more opportunities for newer technologies to be adopted, um, across your municipal buildings.

01:04:53,167	S12:
There are many. Um, recently, we awarded uh, certification status to, uh, ten more climate leaders. We kind of kicked off this entire process in 2023 and opened up certification for municipalities, um, earlier this year. Um, in the beginning of the year, we had 18 municipalities and ten more were recently certified. Um, I apologize for the resolution of this graph of this chart. But as you'll see, there are many, uh, climate related communities, most of them in the Boston metro area. But, um, you'll also notice in western Massachusetts and in the Cape on Islands. So there are five criteria to become a climate leader, just as there were five criteria to become a green community. One of each one of which you've already achieved by having a dedicated, um, energy committee serving, uh, serving Wenham. Um, I There is a criterion to have a municipal decarbonization commitment, which is usually done at town meeting. I'm aware that when I'm passed a the Wenham Selectboard passed a resolution back in 2022 to do the same, and I can check internally whether we can accept that. Um, another which is, um, currently ongoing and um, is in later slides, is to have a municipal decarbonization roadmap to kind of chart out how your town operations would be fully electrified by 2050 or close to it. And then the last two is to adopt a zero emission vehicle policy for your municipal fleet, as well as for the rest. Um, and to um, and I'll actually say that Hamilton is undergoing a parallel process dialogue, um, as well. And finally, to adopt the specialized stretch energy code, I also just want to point out that Wenham is already implementing the stretch energy code, and I will kind of talk a little bit more about that in the following slides. So to begin with, with the decarbonisation roadmap, um, Wenham had actually applied for technical assistance to conduct a decarbonisation roadmap earlier this year, which we awarded. We had a kick off with Steve, with um, members of the um, the environmental committee and with Wadhams shared energy manager, Vicky Moosonee. Um, the process is underway and basically it is a high level roadmap that details how, um, municipal operations for your largest buildings, including the regional school district, will achieve zero over time. This is not a fast, um, race. This is not a, um, a sprint. We we understand that this is a marathon, and we want to be very opportunistic about this. This is about thoughtful Full electrification. This roadmap is also not considered a commitment, financial or otherwise, by the town. It's essentially giving you, um, a window into what is the best time to start replacing your equipment when they do eventually fail so that it, um, you don't default to a like for like fossil fuel replacement. It's about understanding when is the best time to electrify different components of your building. It also identifies when is an opportune time to put on solar, um, for certain roofs. This is not an in-depth study. It is a high level roadmap, but we do offer assistance to do in-depth technical studies. When you do become a climate leader. This is an example timeline. Um, not not rigid, but it gives you an idea of the trajectory that we're looking at starting slowly in the short term and then providing a much faster acceleration, um, through 20, 30, 40, 50. As technologies improve, costs go down, hopefully, and there's more funding available and there's more opportunities, um, for you to replace your equipment and your vehicles. Um, so now moving on to the specialized code. There are three energy codes currently in existence in Massachusetts, technically for with the fossil fuel theory free code, but that's really limited to ten municipalities as of right now. Um, so Wenham has adopted the is implementing the stretch code. You've had the stretch code since, um, before 2010. The next level up that was introduced in 2023 is the Specialized Energy Code. The specialized stretch energy code only affects new construction, and I'll get into the details in a little bit. But this is a map that shows who has adopted it throughout the state. Again, there is a concentration in the Metro West area, but you'll see a lot of dark blue in Western Mass and in the Cape and Islands, um, and including William's neighbor, Beverly. Um, in terms of the what the specialized code entails, this is really the key slide. So as I've said, specialized code only affects new construction. The stretch code does interact with existing buildings, especially when they cross that 1000 square foot threshold. That is correct. But that's currently in effect in Wenham. Um, the specialized code will not have any additional requirements for existing buildings, nor does it have any additional requirements for all electric buildings. Those would follow the rules that you currently have. What it does change is if you have a new construction that's built with fossil fuels, whether it's for clothes drying, um, heating hot water or for cooking, then you just have to have builds, um, a dedicated electrical outlet to do a future electrical swap. This makes it much cheaper to do a future retrofit than having to, like, tear down the drywall like ten years later and, you know, hire an electrician to do it. Once the home is built. And then also, in most cases, to have solar on the rooftop to offset the emissions. This is in most cases because if it's, um, mostly shaded with, with trees, then you would not need to cut down the tree. You would not need to put on solar. Um, there's also a mention of passive House. This applies to multi-family buildings larger than 12,000ft². Um, and what passive House is, is basically an exemplary certification standard for energy efficiency, really focusing on energy efficiency. There might be a slight cost increase. We've seen, um, empirically a 1 to 4% cost increase. But that's counteracted by the fact that with passive House, you're looking at anywhere between 60 and 80% reduction in your energy bills. Again, this has been empirically proven, not just modeled. So this this would have to be adopted in town meeting. Um, it is not a zoning ordinance, so it just requires a simple majority. Just as with the stretch code, when it is adopted, if it is adopted at town meeting, the town also agrees to any future amendments thereto. It is adopted as is. Um, this would only affect new construction for which the permit is made after a certain effective date, which is usually 12 months 18 months after town meeting. So we would not affect any buildings that are under construction or for whom. Um, a permit has already been applied.

01:12:38,300	S12:
Um, it's one of my responsibilities as a green communities coordinator is to do this kind of outreach, not just with the select board, with any other boards, with the community at large for prospective voters or for builders making sure that people are as educated as possible, and to also have an open debate and dialogue. Because, yes, there are some costs to this. Um, with regard to the specialized code. It's also helpful to have people who are expertise, whether they're builders, developers, architects who know about the specialized code, about passive House and can speak to their own experiences and help quell some anxiety about that. There is a long road whenever the select board decides to um, or whenever an article is presented in town meeting. Um, and so that gives a long time to do this kind of outreach, and I'm very open to supporting that. So that was kind of a lot on the specialized code. I'm now going to move on to the zero emission first public policy. What this does is encourage electrification of the municipal feed and the RC fleet. This only applies um currently to um, uh, light duty vehicles to those under £7,500. It prioritizes purchases of EVs only when commercially available or practical. If not, if that's not possible, then you move down what's known as a prioritization chain, which steps into plug in hybrids and then hybrids. And if none of those are feasible, then there's always the option for regular gasoline or diesel vehicles. Um, we recognize that there is market limitations out there right now for certain types of EVs. So we want to build in that flexibility when it comes to that policy. Um, we also have exemptions for heavy duty vehicles because also those obviously those are very hard to electrify and, um, emergency vehicles such as police and fire response vehicles. So all in all, this would actually only affect, um, a small percentage of, uh, town vehicles and of course, green communities. Um, obviously understanding the fact that you have a current grant right now, but in future grants, you could also apply for funding for electric vehicle, electric vehicles, uh, for the incremental cost from green communities.

01:15:12,100	S12:
So now I've kind of talked about what you have to do. Now I want to talk about what you get. So, um, we have two grants under the Climate Leaders Program. One is a technical assistance grant and one is known as the accelerator grant, which is a capital grant. Technical assistance. We provide up to 150 grant to do any kinds of electrical studies. Feasibility studies. Engineering and design work. Bid packages. Um, for any kind of decarbonization project. And then we'll also. Help fund the decarbonization project, which can include any of these technologies that you see on screen, such as solar heat pumps and storage. So as I've said, we can do things like test wells, just like with, you know, ground source heat pumps. Um, we can also do pre electrification work. Understanding what the, uh, panel requirements are, whether you might need a service upgrade. Um, but, um, if you're going with the solar route, we can probably buy down the cost of the PPA or direct ownership. And solar is obviously a great choice for an all electric building because it helps reduce your operational cost and also reduces carbon emissions from the grid. So it's a win win win. Um, so we have 28, uh, climate leaders. So far we've had four applications. Uh, recently, um, our accelerator and technical assistance grants are open until 2027. So some people are taking a slower route really thinking about what they want to come in for. So that's why we only have four so far. But this gives you an idea of who's doing what and how much they're getting for it. So um, Acton, Chelmsford, have, you know, gone for the full amount, $1 million for decarbonisation plus solar and then Ashfield and Watertown also doing um, solar as well. So, um, I kind of threw a lot out there. I um, thank you everyone, for, uh, listening to me. And I'm happy to take any questions from members of the Selectboard and from the town manager.

01:17:19,067	S1:
Thank you. Dylan. That was a very comprehensive and, um, well presented, um, slide deck. So thanks. Are there any members of the board who have questions or comments. Um. For Dylan.

01:17:36,501	S1:
Gary.

01:17:38,100	S5:
Questions. Dylan. You know, the vast majority of towns have adopted the stretch code. Correct. And it started from the slide that 55 would have adopted the specialized. How rapidly is that occurring? When did the specialized code start? These 55.

01:17:55,067	S12:
Yeah. So the specialized code was available for adoption in early 2023. Um, so it's been out for two years. Well, I guess nearly three years at this point. Um, so we've had really rapid growth. Um, especially last year. Um, it slowed down a little bit, but, um, I guess it's a testament to say that we've already had 55 communities in just under three years.

01:18:22,300	S5:
One other quick question on the, um, the thousand square feet, which induces a whole rebuild of the house. Is there any exemption for affordable housing or for ADUs that came into effect this past year?

01:18:39,400	S12:
So the the thousand square feet is a threshold for additions, um, as well as certain renovations. And I want to be clear, again, this already applies to the town of Wellen. Um, this is under the regular stretch code, and this is applies to the 300 other municipalities that have adopted the stretch and specialized code. So there are exemptions for historic buildings. Um and historic is um, loosely defined. So it can be like a historic preservation committee, the state housing, a state historic preservation office. Um, it could be even like the building inspector can certify that, you know, compliance would harm the historic nature of the building. When it comes to ADUs, they're kind of treated differently. The, um, energy efficiency requirements is really limited to the extent of the Adu itself, where regardless of whether it's attached or detached, because that's just how the way that the testing works. So that would not require a whole house retrofit or remodel.

01:19:51,701	S5:
Thank you for that clarification, because I think it's an important point for, uh, affordable housing in town.

01:19:57,601	S12:
Understood.

01:20:00,400	S1:
Um, any other questions or comments among board members for Dylan? I don't see. Oh, Deirdre. Yes.

01:20:11,167	S6:
Thank you for the presentation. That was very helpful. I have a process question. So I guess if we're considering this evening approving the application for climate leader designation to go forward. How does that get impacted where the code still has to be approved by town meeting? So do you need that approval first before we do the application or that can be pending. While this is submitted, like how does how do the pieces fit together?

01:20:42,868	S12:
Um, that's a very good question. So, um, your vote tonight, um, would probably would likely precede the, um, the, the vote at town meeting. So it's not necessary that we need proof of the vote tonight. That's not something that we would need, but we would definitely need, um, a, um, minutes from the town meeting if it was past that town meeting to adopt the specialized code. So whether your your vote tonight is more of an internal vote, um, for lack of better words.

01:21:24,901	S6:
And the only piece that needs to be approved by town meeting is the specialized code.

01:21:30,968	S12:
Is that exactly the. So the town meeting voters would vote on the specialized code, the select board and the Hamilton Wenham superintendent, Regional School District superintendent. Um, would sign off on the zero emissions vehicle policy.

01:21:51,000	S6:
Thank you.

01:21:52,300	S1:
Any other questions or comments from board members? All right. Seeing none. Joe, are there any members of the public who wish to speak?

01:22:03,501	S2:
Yes. There is one hand raised. Um, Sue.

01:22:09,267	S1:
Okay. If you could bring her over.

01:22:15,567	S2:
Go ahead. Sue.

01:22:16,267	S13:
Am I brought over?

01:22:18,667	S1:
Yes.

01:22:19,367	S13:
Wow. That was an event. Um. I'm Petrolia, succeeding Roden. Wenham. Uh, I am a member of Casc and also Hamilton Wenham climate action team. I was the, um, town sustainability manager at the time that we became green communities in 2010. It was an exciting time, and passing the stretch code was a big deal. It was it was hard. It was a big event. Um, but at the end of it all, the town meeting approved it overwhelmingly. Um, I want to be sure that we understand. And I think Dylan helped me here, that this specialized stretch code only affects new buildings. I understand the, um, the building inspector has had some negative feedback about the stretch code, which does affect, you know, expansion and other things and homes that are here already. But this specialized dress code only affects new buildings, which I think is important for Wenham, in particular because of potential expansion in 3D things and stuff like that. So I just want to throw my support to the passing, the specialized dress code. Thank you.

01:23:44,100	S1:
Thank you Sue. All right. Any other? Any other. Hands up! Joe.

01:23:52,868	S2:
No, that is it.

01:23:54,167	S1:
Okay. All right, so on the agenda, I believe that there's a proposed motion that the Select board vote to, um, authorize the Climate Action Committee to apply on the town's behalf to be a climate leader. Is that the proper Description of what we're being asked to do tonight. Deirdre, is that your understanding as well? Or. Lucy. Yes.

01:24:23,701	S11:
Yeah. I just I think, uh, we'd like to, uh, whatever legwork there is and to get, um, the, the, the votes needed or the documents needed and everything needed to finalize an application, we'd like to, to get approval to do that.

01:24:43,968	S1:
So if we, if we, if we do that, if we vote as a board, um, in favor of the motion, it's as it's presented. I just. Deirdre, you kind of asked this question of Dillon procedurally, but does that mean that what we would be authorizing is that the Climate Action Committee would then work with appropriate staff in town hall to prepare those filings, that Dillon is going to need, that meet the, um, climate leader criteria other than the uh specialized code vote of town meeting. In other words, like when we vote, if we vote to support this, that's going to, um, uh, that's going to then require certain specific actions by someone. And apparently, Lisa, that would be your committee working with staff to prepare things to then send to the state. Is that right?

01:25:45,567	S11:
Yes. And whatever approvals are needed, like for a policy for the, the, uh, the electric vehicle policy, I would assume, would need a vote to say that the the town is adopting this policy. So we'd like to be able to help whoever it is, Steve, Joe and everyone, whatever we can do to pull that together. Um, yes. Okay. So I, I, I would have to defer to you and and Steve and to know how a policy becomes a policy. But, um, understood, required coming back to you to say yes. Keep going.

01:26:35,100	S1:
I think we can probably embed some of those principles in in the motion. Um, but, Dylan, I saw you had your hand up.

01:26:44,567	S12:
Um, yes. Thank you. Benjamin. So, um, I just wanted to highlight. So I'm guessing I wanted to highlight that there are kind of some concurrent tasks that, um, that would be needed. So one would obviously, uh, have an article at town meeting to adopt the specialized energy code. Um, the select board would need to, um, adopt the zero emission vehicle policy and also the H h WRC would also need to approve it as well. Um, at the same time, you're currently drafting a municipal decarbonization roadmap. Uh, we're working with your energy manager to do that. Um, one thing I did not mention in the presentation is that there are two opportunities a year to apply for the climate leader certification, one at the end of June 1st and the end of December. So, um, technically, you can apply any time of the year, but that's when we kind of, uh, review them. So basically once you have those all of those documentation together, whenever in the in that six month period is when you'll be able to apply fully to become a climate leader.

01:27:53,767	S1:
Okay. So are there any other, um, comments or questions that anyone has? Board. Staff? Public.

01:28:05,267	S2:
Mr. chairman, there is uh, so we would like to speak again.

01:28:08,000	S1:
Hey, uh. Sue, please.

01:28:11,300	S13:
Sorry. It's me again. Um, I believe that Vicky Moosonee is on the call also. And she would be a very integral part of working with, um, green communities. She has been all along, and, uh, she will be very important to us. Um, there was something else I was going to say, but I forgot what it was. Oh, Dillon. Uh, can you explain quickly our situation in when I'm in terms of grants, we are maxed out on our green communities. Grants for a while. Is that true?

01:28:47,000	S12:
Um, I guess I want to clarify what maxed out means. So you currently have a decarbonization grant, right? For the town hall? Um, that kind of. That gives you a cooldown period of two years after that was awarded. So you would not be able to apply until for green communities competitive grant until early 2027. Again. Um but on top of that, for municipalities that have had $1 million in competitive grant funding, which Wenham has, um, your funding amount, your eligibility is cut in half from 250 round to 125 grand. So you're still able to apply for green communities funding, just not as much in the future.

01:29:39,701	S13:
Thank you.

01:29:44,067	S1:
Based on the discussion that we've had tonight, Deirdre, did you want to say something? I'm sorry.

01:29:50,000	S6:
Um, well, I don't know if it's what you're about to say, but I think two things. One is if Vicki has any comments before we move to a vote. But I do think the draft motion is appropriate, because I think what we're approving tonight is in principle to pursue this climate leader designation, and we leave the individual specific approvals until their policy has been created, because we need to approve the zero emission policy. We need to bring the the specialized code to town meeting and so forth. So I think broadly, what we're signaling tonight is that we approve going forward with this.

01:30:30,467	S1:
Okay, Karen, I see your hand up.

01:30:35,167	S4:
Yeah. I was just wondering, um, Kate's on the phone. Um, if she could weigh in and just give us, uh, our quick opinion, that would be great.

01:30:46,467	S1:
All right. Um, although before we ask Kate to speak, if she is, I see that she's on the on the side of the zoom world. Um, is Vicki Sony. I'm a panelist right now, and if so, Vicky, do you wish to say anything?

01:31:11,067	S1:
Jo? Is Vicky.

01:31:12,067	S14:
I'm here. Hi, everyone.

01:31:13,567	S1:
Hi, Vicky. Why don't we start with with you? Um, your name has come up several times, so I want to give you the opportunity to give your input.

01:31:21,567	S14:
Sure. Thanks. I'm Vicky Mazzoni. I know most of you, but I'm the part time energy manager for Hamilton Wenham and also the regional school district. Um, I've worked in town since 2014, so, um, I came right on the tail of Sue getting Green Communities designation for you all. And I've worked through all those grants and getting tons of money through that programme for both towns and the school districts. So I've been following this climate leaders programme closely. I think it's a very logical next step for both towns. You have a history of being cutting edge on these programs. And, you know, you're right there with the Swampscott and the Salem's and the Beverly's. And, um, I'll certainly work with the Climate Action Committee and with Steve and Joe to help with all the mechanics of getting the application together. Um, and, and helping the town move through the process. So I think I would be really a mechanics person as far as those of you who are asking procedurally, what's next. But but like Dylan or maybe Deirdre said, tonight is really about getting the select board's feel for is this something you want to pursue or not? And, um, Hamilton talked about this last night at their select board. So as Dylan or maybe Lucy mentioned, they're moving in parallel and it would be great for Hamilton and want them to both become climate leaders in 2026. Thank you.

01:32:50,667	S1:
Thank you. Vicki. Um.

01:32:55,367	S1:
Kate. Are you. Um.

01:32:58,000	S7:
So it's interesting.

01:32:59,667	S1:
Yes. Yes.

01:33:01,267	S7:
Do we. Just to select board. Need any more information to decide on which way to go with this?

01:33:09,767	S1:
Um, I don't think that I do, but Karen, I don't. Okay. Uh, well.

01:33:16,167	S7:
Deirdre.

01:33:18,267	S4:
I think it's. You're being a little dismissive. I'd like to hear from Kate.

01:33:22,100	S9:
Yeah.

01:33:22,300	S6:
Okay. We should allow Kate to comment.

01:33:25,300	S7:
Alrighty.

01:33:26,000	S1:
I agree. Kate.

01:33:27,567	S15:
Yeah. So I just echo what Vicki said. Um, Dylan, your presentation was, um, very clarifying for all of us, and I think, um, this is a great next step. Thank you very much.

01:33:43,367	S1:
So, um, I support this. Um, I don't love the wording of the motion, though. Um, so I'm going to, um, propose a motion and see where it goes. I move that the Wenham Select Board support the application for climate Leader designation, and that it authorized the Climate Action and Sustainability Committee to begin preparing such application. Working with staff and seeking necessary subsequent votes as needed in order to complete the application.

01:34:28,567	S7:
Peter. Close seconds.

01:34:32,868	S1:
All right. We can take a roll call. Karen.

01:34:36,667	S4:
Yes.

01:34:38,067	S1:
Deirdre.

01:34:39,100	S6:
Yes.

01:34:40,167	S1:
Gary.

01:34:41,167	S5:
Yes.

01:34:42,100	S1:
Peter.

01:34:42,901	S7:
Yes.

01:34:44,100	S1:
And Ben is. Yes. Thank you. Lucy. Dylan. Um. Kate, Vicki and all of the members of the Climate Action Sustainability Committee For all your work on this, and it's great that we're able to take this next step.

01:35:00,701	S12:
Thank you very much.

01:35:02,367	S6:
I'd like to thank everyone who came this evening in support of this. It's great to see colleagues from Hamilton as well as our committee members, um, the climate action team. This is a fantastic turnout. So thank you.

01:35:17,567	S11:
Thank you.

01:35:18,701	S1:
Thank you everybody. All right. That leaves us with, I think, two agenda items. One is an update on the route, one a project, and the other is an update on the solar project. Um, neither requires a vote. Is my understanding. So, Steve, maybe we could start with, um, item. Uh, I guess it would be. Sorry. Um.

01:35:47,167	S1:
I'm just looking at the agenda. Yeah. Item. Sorry. Item f the, uh, dot one a project.

01:35:53,100	S9:
Okay.

01:35:54,667	S3:
Um. Um, Michelle, if you could just scroll down to the to the maps. So basically what this is and I, you know, as an email that I sent earlier, this is the first time you guys have seen it as of about noon time today. So I don't expect any vote, uh, unless, you know, you're competent to take one. But basically what this is are, um, these are temporary and permanent easements and takings that the state will need to do that. These, these, these, these maps here that you have in front of you are basically.

01:36:32,200	S8:
Do you have maps.

01:36:33,400	S3:
Are just municipal, um owned parcels that require takings. The private landowners, there are no takings required, but there are some temporary easements. That's a separate process that we're working on. But this is just municipal simple owned property that's impacted by the project. So what you have in front of you here is gray. Unfortunately, the color code is not on the map, but the gray, um, is a temporary easement construction easement. So this will be that they'll need access to that to work and store vehicles and, uh, you know, do site work and things like that. The pink is a permanent easement that would need to be taken. And then the, um, the orange is a, uh, a taking that, you know, basically, you can see the way Friend Court was, was laid out. I know it's like originally it was a very small road, um, all the way over to the right with the dotted line and now with the, you know, the kind of aerial Rendering. You can see it's been expanded onto the townhome property. Uh, you know, so the way actually crosses the town owned in the state here is proposing to, you know, to take all that land and make it part of the public way. And if we scroll down, there are three other maps, two other maps, excuse me, that, uh, depict the changes with some much smaller takings, this one being that one small temporary easement you see down in the on the corner left. Uh, and then also a very small, uh, taking, uh, as part of that original orange triangle, much bigger triangle along the edge of French court kind of finishes off that, taking down to the edge of the road. Um, and then if we we keep going down, there's one more map. Up.

01:38:49,601	S3:
And see here. Now we are. We are looking at the fire station and a couple of, um, temporary easements and, um, one permanent taking, which is. I'm not sure, but I believe it's some sort of utility. Uh, need that. If you can see up at the top, there's a small grey circle with a green outlined, uh, within the temporary easement. This is something that the state would need. So these, these these documents that you have before you, the requests, whether it's tonight or next week, would be to authorize me to sign on behalf of the board. The council has reviewed these documents. They're basically releasing the state from any liability and also us acknowledging that they need, you know, the use of these to either take or use these pieces of land temporarily. And that they will be giving us no money for it, and that we are acknowledging that we are aware of that from from what we've been told in order for the project to move forward. The state needs us to sign all these documents and needs the pieces of land as itemized here without changes.

01:40:06,868	S1:
But we could vote. We could vote on that on December 16th. Is that right? Yep.

01:40:12,067	S3:
Yeah. So any questions that come up tonight I can I don't know if Kate's still here. She probably has a little bit better understanding than I do. But if we don't have the answers to your question and give us a couple of weeks to get them, and then we can revisit it for a vote on this 16th or 17th.

01:40:31,667	S1:
16th, I think. Yeah. Karen, you have your hand up.

01:40:37,367	S4:
Yes. Steve, I just had a quick question. So that land, it will be used for potential storage and items that we said at the beginning.

01:40:46,067	S3:
Yeah. So like, uh, they're going to be working in the public way. So they need act. They need to be able to, you know, they might have to dig up, you know, like you can't dig right to the border. They're going to have to if they're if they're a demo and a sidewalk or whatever, they're going to disrupt the land adjacent to the sidewalk onto town owned property. And also trucks will need to be able to pass and repass excavators, things of that nature. They may store trucks there overnight, you know, if that's the section that they're working on.

01:41:17,000	S4:
I guess my question is, is like, are there any hazardous materials? Because that's a house right there. Right. So at the corner of where like the.

01:41:25,400	S9:
Kid.

01:41:25,868	S3:
Talking.

01:41:26,167	S9:
About.

01:41:26,767	S4:
Yeah. Um, what you have up on screen right now where it says like 602 on the left that, you know, there's houses there. So are they going to be putting items there that are hazardous? Are they going to be putting items there that potentially are toxic? Um, I'd hate to have a truck there for the week. Um, and and have that, um. I mean, I don't care about aesthetically pleasing. I'm more concerned that, you know, is there anything that that is a potential hazard to the homeowners?

01:41:57,000	S3:
I mean, nothing obviously, that's prevented from, you know, construction law and safety and environmental concerns. It is a state project. So they're not, you know, but we can get and get clarification on what is going to be any, uh, you know, um, hazardous materials stored there. It will be, you know, just for these are the temporary easements that impact town on land. There are a number of easements similar to this along the route of both sides of the route that impact private lands. Uh, so we're going to be talking to them, and they will need to be given access similar to what we're talking about here. So there are there are going to be houses that are going to be impacted directly in front of them.

01:42:50,801	S3:
And from what we've been told, it's a non-negotiable. Um, if we you know, that this if we don't want to move forward with these takings, then the state can't move forward with the project.

01:43:05,501	S1:
Which which would be a shame. I think we need to, uh, we need to do what needs to be done, in my opinion, to get Ddot to sign off on this and, uh, and move ahead. Um, having said that, I personally wouldn't object to putting the vote off for two weeks. You know, to give more time to look at these materials and have any, any questions. But I'd also be comfortable supporting it tonight. I don't know how other members feel.

01:43:39,167	S7:
I'd be fine supporting it tonight.

01:43:44,200	S1:
All right. Any other Gary?

01:43:46,267	S5:
Tonight's okay.

01:43:49,100	S1:
Um, any members of the public who want to be heard on this?

01:43:54,167	S2:
No. Hands raised.

01:43:55,501	S1:
All right. Uh, would someone like to make a motion? Is there a motion to be had? Steve? Um. What would.

01:44:04,400	S3:
Um.

01:44:07,200	S16:
I don't see.

01:44:08,200	S3:
You pull up the agenda real quick.

01:44:19,000	S3:
Uh, move to authorize the town administrator to sign the right of entry and land damages agreements for the MassDOT route one, a project. And we say as presented in the packet tonight.

01:44:31,667	S5:
So moved by Gary.

01:44:34,167	S6:
Second.

01:44:35,667	S1:
All right. We have a motion and a second. We'll take a roll call. Vote. Peter.

01:44:39,100	S7:
Yes.

01:44:39,868	S1:
Gary.

01:44:40,701	S5:
Yes.

01:44:41,267	S1:
Karen.

01:44:42,000	S9:
Yes.

01:44:43,000	S1:
Deirdre.

01:44:49,067	S1:
Did you say. Yes? Deirdre. Sorry. Yes. Okay. And Ben is. Yes. Thank you. All right. That moves us on to the last item, I believe. Steve.

01:45:00,501	S16:
Yeah. So I just thought we could.

01:45:03,767	S3:
Um, you kind of go go over the HTC. I want, I want to say that the, uh, the HTC did ultimately support, although with the number of, uh, stipulations, a solar array to be erected in the rear parking lot, they reserve the right to, um, uh, they reserve the right to approve the size, uh, shape. Um, well, shape and look and materials used for the solar array. However, they are generally okay with the idea of a solar array being assembled in the historic district in the rear parking lot of town hall. Uh, but you know which which I thought that that that was, you know, a big win for, uh, you know, the town for, for the, for, you know, from the standpoint of being able to put a solar array, um, and their willingness to, you know, work with our climate needs and incorporate that into the historic nature of the, of the downtown. But the numbers have changed significantly from when we first visited this, uh, back in the late summer, early September, um, in which the lower array and the lower parking lot in a steel structure was effectively budget neutral and by, you know, budget neutral, I mean that we would essentially shift for easy math if we spend. You know, we're currently budgeting about $10,000 in energy costs to run town hall in both electricity and fossil fuels. It will be soon all electricity with the. Once the Geo is fully operational, and we would be shifting those $10,000 to, you know, really just alone that we would need to take out to build the solid solar array in those $10,000 would go towards your your loan amortization payment over the next 20 years. So by budget neutrals, we don't have to budget any more money. However, we you know, we are budgeting money to pay pay for it. But now the landscape has changed, given the federal tax credit and, um, the kind of the logjam of folks trying to get in with both installers and equipment suppliers to make the December 31st deadline with a 30% federal tax credit. We've seen prices increase by about 22%. On top of that, the cost to install a wood structure, which was the preference of the HTC and also relocate the structure to the upper lot, results in the town needing to to maintain it. Budget neutral, the town would need to come up with about $240,000,

01:48:00,267	S3:
um, through Capital One time funding to essentially pay down the project to a level that can be funded through, uh, budgeted budgetary funds that are already, uh, budgeted for in our, uh, utility line items. So I kind of wanted to get the board's feedback from there, you know, and the more I think just from my personal opinion, the more, you know, just listening to, uh, I believe his name was Patel. Uh, gave the presentation there. And, you know, it's something that I had been thinking about. And, you know, he brought up that there is funding for that for a feasibility study for solar, if the town may, you know, given that, you know, the sense of urgency that was there to get the 30% tax credit is almost completely erased by the escalation in the market over the last three months that, you know, maybe we want to cool our heels. Um, and, you know, if we're pursuing this climate leader, uh, cooling our heels does not, uh, impact us pursuing the climate leader designation. And if we can pursue the climate leaders designation, it seems to open up a whole bunch of grants that could fund a study that, you know, instead of us just piecemeal solar arrays around town to. But to really to take a look at it and be a little bit more thoughtful, um, in, you know, knowing exactly how many panels, You know, how much energy does the town use in all its buildings? Exactly how many panels and how much room does this take up and actually put a plan in place that, you know, makes us carbon neutral by 2040? Um, and, you know, and knowing that we're going to get there instead of just, you know, creating solar arrays in the hopes that I just think that that might be, you know, a better way that we can go about it and, you know, maybe, um, benefit from some economies of scale of doing more than one project at once. Um, or buying more panels and, you know, and, and, and kind of systematically, uh, you know, bring them in over a number of projects. You know, I don't know, I just it was just a thought that I had.

01:50:11,400	S1:
All right. Thanks, Steve. Um, any comments or questions from the board?

01:50:19,100	S1:
All right, so you don't need any. Oh, Gary.

01:50:22,367	S5:
Yeah. So, uh, looking at this additional 250,000 or $240,000 plus the 10,000. Year over 20 years. So we're talking about half $1 million for this project. I think it would be prudent to look at alternatives that perhaps the development of solar at another parcel or larger project, or perhaps this money could be better spent on a a larger scale project to accomplish town wide electrification or a net zero rather than, as Steve said, doing one small panel place for the town hall and then maybe years later, do another small one for fire department and another one for CoA. So maybe we should take a bigger view at this.

01:51:15,167	S1:
Thank you Gary. Any other comments? Questions?

01:51:18,767	S7:
I support what Gary says.

01:51:23,000	S1:
I do too. Deirdre, did you want to say something?

01:51:26,000	S6:
Just any comments from Lucy or Sue? Anyone or Vicki? Anyone in attendance?

01:51:36,801	S2:
Um. Mister Chairman Colby Stoddard has his hand raised.

01:51:40,467	S9:
Okay. All right.

01:51:43,267	S2:
Go ahead. Colby.

01:51:51,501	S17:
I'm sorry. Can you guys hear me now?

01:51:53,400	S9:
Yes, yes.

01:51:54,300	S17:
Great. Um, I just wanted to make a suggestion that there is the community choice aggregation program that we could consider. Um, you know, so this is an ability to do, um, kind of bulk, uh, purchasing agreements for electricity in the town. And if the municipality wants to opt for the 100% renewable, um, option for that, that's a very, uh, low effort way of, uh, I won't say that for Steve Paulus. But it's a, it's a low, um, commitment from a. Infrastructure standpoint. So, um, I would just suggest looking into that.

01:52:31,567	S6:
The thanks that is actually in process. So that was approved at last year's. Town meeting to go forward. So that is um, running in parallel.

01:52:42,367	S17:
Excellent. Thank you.

01:52:44,868	S2:
Um, I believe Vicki had her hand up too.

01:52:49,067	S14:
I did. Hi everyone. Again, I just want to comment that when we designed the Wenham Town Hall decarbonization project, obviously it's it's going to be an all electric building going forward. So our electricity use is going to be significantly increased. Um, so, you know, the best way to offset, you know, electricity is more expensive than gas. That's the bottom line. I just did the analysis on the when Alcoa and their utility costs are up because electricity is more money. So really the best way to do it is to offset with a renewable on site. Um, so while you can do it off site, it's um, because of the economics of what you get back in credit from an off site solar, it's not exactly the same as putting it on site or what they call it behind the meter. And there's a lot of details in logistics, but, um, it's not as lucrative for the town to do something off site to offset that increased electric cost. Thank you.

01:53:49,100	S1:
Thank you.

01:53:51,267	S2:
Petrolia as well. Mr. chairman.

01:53:53,567	S1:
Yes, I sue.

01:53:57,767	S13:
Um, I was at the agency meeting on Monday, and I understand the concerns of the agency and and all the members about the look of it. Uh, it was interesting because I was so 100% pro. Um, but I do understand their concerns. I do also understand and reiterate Vicky's comments that putting something on site works a whole lot better than having it somewhere else. Um, electricity likes to be where it's needed. Um, so it's a difficult choice for you, I understand it. The Climate action team and the, um, when I'm with Casc is in favour of the, uh, the canopy. Um, so I just want to throw that out there. Thank you.

01:54:51,400	S1:
Thank you. Any other comments from the public or the board? First the public. Joe.

01:55:00,601	S2:
No other hands. Okay.

01:55:03,200	S1:
Uh, if anyone from the board wish to speak.

01:55:07,200	S6:
I'll just say. I mean, I'm definitely still in favor of trying to see this through and putting the solar panels, um, at Town hall, essentially to offset the town hall energy use. But I do agree that we may need to pause to try to figure out the financials of how to make this a little bit more viable. Um, but not that is not scrapping the project or in any way putting this aside. Um, but just thinking it through a little more carefully and what our options may be.

01:55:46,267	S1:
And what our.

01:55:47,767	S7:
So what the HTC recommended was upper lot with the wood cladding and I if we could get there that that to me is the the best way to do it because otherwise it's just going to look so a steel structure. Um in the parking lot right, right next to Town Hall is not going to look good.

01:56:14,667	S7:
So let's explore other ideas or other sourcing needs.

01:56:21,100	S3:
I mean, you have a couple. If you have a couple options, you know, one would be a capital request. I mean, ultimately a select board, you know, sets the capital list. But the finance committee reviews it. We'll be asking town meeting for about a $240,000 appropriation to move forward with the project, as currently estimated. Uh, you know, however, you know, we are in the background, you know, checking prices and, um, you know, there there is some hope that, you know, I don't know if it means it would align with this year's town meeting. But once the logjam clears that the prices will again. The 30% credit isn't there anymore, but the 30% credit is eroded almost completely away with the price inflation, that prices will stabilize and go back down to levels similar to where they were over the summer. So it kind of puts us in the same place. Um, you know, I'm just it's it's really the question, you know, tonight to the board is, you know, and similar to in line with, with the way you've been discussing is it does the board want to continue to move forward with the project as proposed? Uh, you know, given the timing or, um, you know, kind of gamble that prices will stabilize and, um, you know, we can do something different. You know, maybe a little bit bigger array back there where it's kind of out of sight and, you know, contribute, uh, not only offset the the town's energy use, the town hall energy use, but also go maybe go towards, uh, other buildings as well. But that's a little bit out of my expertise on how that works with the behind the meter in front of the meter and all that. All that stuff.

01:58:12,300	S1:
So if we if we don't vote tonight to, um, support a change in the current course of action, does that mean that that there'll be a submission made by December 31st with the details to be worked out thereafter, including whether there'd be an appropriation next year for the reporting?

01:58:36,467	S3:
Well, there would be, I think, a leap of faith on IG's part that if the Select Board chose at this meeting to move forward as proposed, that we would be the plan would be to put forward a capital request to fund it. And they would. Again, I'm not maybe Vicki knows more, but, um, the, um, to start securing the panels and get the panels, the serial numbers applied to our account, which I believe is critical in establishing that first 5% of project completion to qualify for the grant. Um, and then if you know, if things fell apart, then there is a the town would essentially be signing up for a $10,000 penalty for breaking the contract, and they would eat the rest of the costs associated with getting us to the 5%. So they would be taking a gamble, and we would also be taking a gamble.

01:59:40,267	S1:
You have your hand up.

01:59:42,367	S2:
Uh, yeah. Thank you. Just a quick, uh, aside just from the HCC kind of standpoint. They issued a certificate of appropriateness. Um, that generally is only good for 12 months. Not that we couldn't go back to the HTC, but the current motion that was approved in the certificate that was issued last week is only good for 12 months. I just wanted to throw that out there.

02:00:04,000	S1:
All right. Well, it's December 2nd, so if, if we if we don't change the status quo, um, is there any risk that in the next 29 days that we would be submitting something or signing documents to continue to move forward and yet subjecting the town to some kind of financial risk, as opposed to determining that there are additional expenses that would need to be met in order to complete this. And then maybe those don't get approved, but it doesn't, you know, so that would stymie the project, but wouldn't necessarily create financial liability for the town.

02:00:49,567	S3:
I think, you know, in order to make the credit, as in, the deal presented to the $240,000 is taken into account that the credit if the Select board gives Um, it'd be okay to move forward with that process in order to make the December 30th deadline to basically committing us to if the project doesn't go forward, a $10,000 loss, it would have to pay to ESG because I you know, they will have to start the design at least purchase again, I'm not sure, but I think purchase or have some sort of purchase agreement with the solar panels to get the serial numbers, uh, do some design builds. And so they're going to be into it for more than $10,000, but that's kind of their their skin in the game. And our skin in the game is 10,000. And if, if things would have changed.

02:01:46,601	S1:
Is the is the ten. If, if for example, the town meeting didn't approve 240 in the spring.

02:01:52,067	S3:
Yep. Or just we decided we just changed our mind.

02:01:55,200	S9:
Got it. Okay.

02:01:56,567	S3:
Yeah.

02:01:57,567	S1:
Gary.

02:01:58,767	S5:
Of course, for Steve, the 30% tax credit represents how many dollars against the overall project.

02:02:07,767	S3:
Um, I believe it's roughly

02:02:13,567	S3:
like about 150,000.

02:02:15,667	S5:
All right. So essentially, uh, I would say we ought to just proceed as we're going right now. See if we can make the 31st December deadline. And that gets us $150,000, a significant portion even of the increased cost. But, uh, if it looks at any point that we're not going to get that tax credit, I think we really need to step back and redo all the numbers because, um, I'm sure you have quite $1 million covering a $10,000 a year electric bill. That's a 20 or 25 year payback. So pretty long.

02:02:52,267	S3:
All right. You're okay with the $10,000?

02:02:55,367	S5:
Yeah. You know, ten against 150. I think that's a reasonable risk level.

02:03:05,567	S4:
I agree with Gary.

02:03:10,000	S1:
All right. Thank you. Karen. Thank you Gary. Any other comments? All right. So it doesn't look like there's going to be a motion made tonight to do anything different than what we're doing. So it seems like the consensus is that, um, is essentially, as Gary just laid out, which I also agree with. Um, so I don't know if there's anything more to be said or done on this subject. Um, any other members of the public who have. Hands up. Joe?

02:03:38,467	S2:
No.

02:03:39,367	S1:
Okay, great. All right. That completes our agenda items. Um, I'd entertain a motion to adjourn.

02:03:47,000	S5:
One quick question.

02:03:48,367	S1:
Yes.

02:03:49,267	S5:
So, Steve, uh, have we decided where are we meeting on Saturday?

02:03:54,267	S3:
Oh, yes. Uh, good. Good question. I meant to say that in my update we're going to do the CoA. Unfortunately, we're just not going to get out. The plan was to do it in the select board meeting, but a select board meeting room. But, uh, we're just not going to get out of here by Friday. It's going to be sometime next week. So we'll move it to the CoA.

02:04:15,901	S3:
Yep.

02:04:20,267	S1:
All right. Is there a motion to adjourn?

02:04:23,767	S5:
Peter, that's your job.

02:04:24,667	S6:
5 p.m.. Sorry. Ready?

02:04:30,000	S5:
Second.

02:04:32,767	S1:
Um. Karen.

02:04:33,868	S9:
Yes.

02:04:34,567	S1:
Peter. Yes, Deirdre.

02:04:36,901	S6:
Yes.

02:04:37,567	S1:
Gary.

02:04:38,200	S5:
Yes.

02:04:39,200	S1:
And I'm. Yes. All right. Thanks, everybody.

02:04:41,267	S7:
Thanks, Steve. Joe.

02:04:42,901	S5:
Thanks, Jen.

02:04:44,167	S9:
Good night.

02:04:44,767	S1:
Thank you.

02:04:45,767	S9:
Bye bye.