Select Board - June 18, 2026

I call the June 18th meeting of the select board to order. Please rise for us for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So at the start of this meeting, I'm gonna take a moment to remember a member of the Dedham Police Department who passed away after a courageous battle against cancer. Sergeant James Quigley was raised in Dedham where the seeds of his lifelong commitment to community and service were first planted.

Following his maternal grandfather and great-grandfather, both proud members of the Boston Police Department, James joined the Dedham Police Department in 2015 as a patrol officer. He rose quickly through the ranks, earning the Officer of the Year honors in 2017, a testament to the respect and trust he had already built within his department and the community. In 2018, he was assigned to NORPAC detective unit, and in 2022, he was promoted to sergeant, where he served as court prosecutor at the Dedham District Court, working closely with the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office. Sergeant Quigley carried another badge with equal pride, a champion of domestic violence survivors. He worked closely with Dove, Domestic Violence Inc., lending his voice, his authority, in his genuine compassion to those who needed it most.

His advocacy was not simply a professional duty, it was a reflection of who he was. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Catherine, daughters Maeve, son James III, his parents, in-laws, extended families, and the members of the Dedham Police Department. and we ask that you keep them all in your thoughts and in your prayers during this difficult time. So I'll ask you to please arise for a moment of silence in memory of Sergeant Quigley. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is Dedham citizen open discussion.

And by the way, if you look at the screen for those that are at home, you will see a picture of Sergeant Quigley and his family. and I believe that that was taken when the sergeant was promoted at the town hall. Beautiful family, such a young guy. So nobody for Dedham Citizens Open Discussion. Next item on the agenda, moving to a Certificate of Achievement. Where's Ryan? Ryan's sitting over there. You can come up and sit in the front row if you want. Your father can come too if you want, so you can just sit by yourself. So I'm going to put you in the hot seat. Well, first of all, welcome. and congratulations.

So before I ask you to speak, just give a little background. Ryan just finished up his junior year at Catholic Memorial. He's a member of the National Honor Society in peer ministry. Ryan is a two-sport varsity athlete, three-time state champion, winning back-to-back D3 championship as the backup quarterback on the football team and as a pitcher for the baseball team that just won. the State Division I State Championship this past weekend in Polar Park in Worcester, home of the Wussocks. and I did read that it's been 53 years since CM had written. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about your journey.

Yeah, so our team, we were just a junior and senior team, unranked ahead into the season. We were ranked last in our conference, but we all believed that we had the talent to make a run and go to the championship. So yeah, we started off 4-0 knocking off three top five teams in the state and then just went on like a roller coaster back and forth. And then once the playoffs hit, we got set up with a pretty hard schedule. We had to play. Our first three games were against three teams in our conference. Luckily, we just continued to stay hot. Our offense was amazing. Our defense was also amazing. And then, yeah, we made it to the championship. We went up against probably one of the best athletes in Massachusetts, Brody Mamella. High, like hundreds. And so yeah, we knew we had to face them. We game-planned all week.

We all were confident, even though we were the underdogs, we were ready to go. and yeah, we entered the game. We scored two runs on him in the first two innings and knocked him out of the game. And then after that, I want to say the next inning it was, we went down they scored four runs so we went down two in the third and then entering the fourth it was bases loaded with two outs our nine here was up and luckily he got on to get the get us going, and we scored 11 runs in the fourth inning. That's a MIAA record in the state championship. And then, yeah, we just had all the momentum going on and led us to a state championship.

That's great. 11 runs in the fifth inning, as you mentioned, with two outs. That's quite an accomplishment. So your father sent me a picture. nine years ago, so if you look up on the screen there, do you recognize that picture? Nine years ago, so when you walked in, I said, oh boy. What a difference when you were playing Little League and you guys went to the, was it the Northeast Regional? Yeah, the New England Regional. New England Regional. So I thought it'd be funny to poke that picture up. So where are you? Do you know where you are in that picture?

Right, the second person on the right.

Second person right. So my point is, you're standing there, so stand up.

Your father, stand up.

Well, I think whatever you're doing, keep it going. So congratulations, Ryan. Anybody has any comments before we present Ryan with a certificate?

Well, this is a fun one for me. We have been lucky enough to know Ryan since he was a little kid. He's a close friend of my son. they have played baseball together since they were young and my son's in this photo as well. And I just want to say beyond this list of admirable accomplishments and certainly the fun of winning the state championship. This group of boys, they just have real character. They are good friends to each other. They work hard in school and at their sports. and they're good citizens. So it's really wonderful to see them growing up and becoming such accomplished young men of great character. So look forward to your many more.

accomplishments through the years, and so happy for your big win last week, so congratulations.

I just want to say congratulations and what I thought what I picked up on when you said you believed in you right you all believed in yourselves and that that really is perfect I was on a called today with about 26 business managers, and we talked about they have to believe in themselves, right? They have to believe that they can do it, and for you to say that, at such a young age and to know you have to believe in yourself, right? You can't have any doubts and you know that you can do it. So congratulations. Thank you. Keep that with you forever. and we will be watching and we'll be seeing what you'll be doing and your dad will keep us posted. So, good job.

Michelle?

Congratulations. What an exciting time and athletic accomplishments like this are always really exciting. but it's great to hear what a well-rounded person you are not just the athletics and I noted that when Jim said introduce yourself I don't think I heard anything about you you went right to talk about your team so that says a lot right there too. Congratulations.

So, Ryan, we have a, come on up, come on up. We have a Certificate of Achievement, Karl Walter Mast, Dedham, Select Board certifies, this certificate is presented to Ryan Doyle. and recognition of your outstanding achievement as a member of the Catholic Memorial Division I State Championship Baseball Team, given with our congratulations and best wishes on this 18th day of June. and so for the citizenship myself, Aaron, Dimitria and Steven who's on his way. So congratulations. We're going to take, Nancy, can you take a picture? Ryan, come back here because this is, and you're going to have to stand behind us.

Thank you.

Thank you. What's up for the summer? More baseball.

You're working?

Yeah, summer off. Summer off? Good. Excellent. Thank you. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thanks again. Thank your uncle for coming in too.

That's the way I have it, obviously. All right.

Okay, move on to the town manager's report.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Just a couple of quick updates this evening. I mentioned this previously, but we now have a confirmed date for our website transition to our new URL. We're going to be dropping the hyphen like we did email addresses and that will happen on June 30th at noon time. There should be no disruption in service and our prior domain will continue to function. It'll be a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier for folks to find us, and it'll all match with our email addresses. and bring us a little bit, I think ease access to our wealth of great information that we have on our website. So I think that's a big step for our IT and communications departments. Splash pad grand opening June 22nd at 5 p.m. Parks and Rec Commission has planned a grand opening. That's for our new splash pad at Condon Park. that was completely funded via ARPA funds, as you may recall.

And this is a great addition to our town, very popular already. I'm hearing from our parks director, he was up there the other day and before folks even really knew it was open word of mouth was spreading and he said there were 10 to 15 kids there within a couple of hours splashing around enjoying it in the heat and I'm sure it will continue to be a very popular Amenity throughout the summer months. So the Parks and Rec Commission has some fun things planned for the grand opening on Monday evening. Not going to be the traditional ribbon cutting. It's going to be a little bit different, a little bit more tailored to a WET event. And so I think that should be fun for the kids and families and there will also be some treats involved. And then on

June 24th the planning board will be meeting and there will be an update from the property owner and prospective developer of the and many other possible projects that had been called previously campus at 128. They will provide an update to the planning board on the 24th. will be a popular item of discussion. So I think folks should tune into that because I think there may be some good information shared. There is currently the MEPA process ongoing. Folks can submit comments to that online. and I know a number of people have already done that as well. So again, this is not a project as of yet because there have been no submittals or no applications made but it is something I know that many folks in the community are very interested in there will be more information coming out of that June 24th meeting, I'm sure. And that concludes my report, but happy to take questions.

Thank you. Anybody have any questions for Leon? Okay, hearing none. Again, as I mentioned, Stephen is on his way. He was working, so he will be here shortly. Consent agenda.

Mr. Chairman, I just had a couple questions on this. Do you want me to do it after the motion? Okay, so I don't know if Ann has joined us. I think so. Just curious on the two spaces. on the Eastern app, and for the, is it Roundhead Brewing? that's going to be there? Yeah. That wasn't with the original application for when they asked to close all of them, when they had come before.

This is new. This was not presented prior. has submitted a one-day license for the event that's in the consent agenda. The application is complete.

Okay. And then just the two parking spaces, if Dan wants to?

Sure. Okay. Hi. Whoa. Sorry. Hold on. It's way too loud. Here. Hold on. It's not you.

It's a new system.

It's new.

Try again.

Just a little more. Keep on talking.

Go ahead. Hi, I'm Anne Miranda from Dedham School Circle. Is that good?

Yeah, you're good. Okay, go ahead.

So thank you so much for considering my request. So Roundhead Green is put in the request as Nancy Baker just mentioned. to be your garden vendor for the summer store event. And my request tonight, as well as his requests are sort of in partnership in a way so the parking spaces that I'm reserving would be similar to what we did last year which is there was a Wagon, so to speak, that holds the kegs, even though there won't be kegs overnight in it, but they're gonna drop off the keg wagon

then before the event and then during the event the wagon will you know be in those spots and in those spots anyway because there will probably be the and then the following day the wagon will be picked up. So as soon as it's picked up the space will be released. and that's all we need it for. And it will be across the street from Norman Serves kind of across the street from the floral shop. So not on the same side of the street as the floral shop, right?

Please.

And Anna, is it all the same like procedures and rules and the way it's going to operate as last year's blocked off area where the alcohol was?

It is. So when Luis, I believe, has joined too, so he can answer the questions because he's the... technically you know he's the applicant that's going to be handling the beer garden but we discussed this at length about what worked last year for instance, using wristbands, having a barrier, the metal barriers. There's Louise. around the area. So yeah, it'll be the same as last year. and Luis has a lot of experience that he can talk to you about running these kinds of rear gardens not only in suburbs but also in the city of Boston.

My name is Luis Espinoza and I'm the founder and owner of the company. for inviting us to be part of this community. We had a stint of salary from last quarter. We've been operating it for three years now. of Experience, and, of course, the Cosplasm. We've been doing a bunch of new donors. I've been attracted to the city of Boston for taking over the fight parks around the Boston parks and we set up meal wallets in all these five parks and we were like a space of caravan where we could have three weekends and start a company. We're going to Charleston, we're going to East Boston, then we're going to Jamaica Bay, and we're finishing in Washington.

So we will be doing this contract with the city here in the three years. This is the third year that we're doing it with the city. So we need to have all the pursuers with a lot of food here. MacDonald, Reilly, Sullivan, Teehan, Jr., and Lincoln Gardens. I'm happy to show you the planning and half of the book for this event. No more for other questions.

Any questions? Okay, thank you. Okay. Consent agenda, please.

Move to approve the consent agenda, including gift acceptance, $500 for Dedham Savings to Human Rights Committee for Juneteenth, drain layer approvals, Buzzy Enterprises and Prime Time Development, Inc., Dedham Square Circle. Additional requests for summer stroll blocking off two spaces on Eastern Ave from 7-15-26 to 7-17-26 with rain dates 7-22-26 to 7-24-26. and street closure from 5 to 10 p.m. instead of the original request of 5.30 to 9.30 p.m. One-day licenses decanted Inc. 626 to 6 p.m. 4 to 6 p.m. for Pride Day, Roundhead Brewing Company, 7, 16, 26, 6 to 9 p.m. for Summer Stroll, Block Party, Paul Street, 7, 18, 26, 2 to 8 p.m. Youssef Town Green, Dedham Performing Arts, the first and third Thursdays of July and August. Do we have a time for that? I just noticed that.

7 to 9 p.m. 7 to 9 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you.

Second.

Any discussion? Giving none. All those in favor?

Aye.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so very much, we really appreciate it. I hope to see you at the stroll.

Thank you.

Thank you too.

Alright, next item on the agenda. We're almost on time. Welcome, Sustainability Advisory Committee. Oh, I'm sorry. I jumped ahead. Come on up.

Hi.

Yes, yes, the other side. So I'm going to have you stand there because what I'm finding...

He's been changing the view.

So can you see, can you see not the back of their heads?

Thank you. Yeah, when the Doyles were sitting there, they showed the front of them.

Okay, great. Oh, there's a camera up there, okay. And now you can sit there. and I forgot that we had a camera on the con.

All right, can you guys hear me okay? Yes. All right. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members. I'm really excited to be here tonight. Meredith Comfrey, the conservation agent for the town. So tonight I'm here to give you just a quick update on the Sawmill Park Pollinator Pathway. But more importantly, I'm really here to get your approval for the installation of the signs that will go on the pathway. So we've been making great progress out there. Joe Flanagan's team has been working so hard under kind of a time crunch. So I definitely encourage you all to go drive by and take a look. the first tree went in yesterday, which was really exciting. And so the signage will be kind of the final expenditure that the grant will cover. So all the signs that were in your pocket that was given to you before this, they will all be covered by the grant completely. And so there's two types of signs that we're going to install.

So the first is a large educational sign, so these are similar to signs you would see at a park. And so what we're hoping to do with this large sign is to put it right at the start of the pathway, kind of as you're coming off of the bridge. So this will welcome people to the pathway and really formalize that it's a town-owned parcel. We're going to have illustrations that represent the different elements of the park. and so what I passed out tonight is a black and white version of the sign and it's also hasn't been professionally scanned in yet but it will be colorized with watercolor so it'll be super vibrant, eye-catching. and the quality will be a little better than what you're seeing tonight. That's just a scan from an iPhone, but it will be professionally scanned in. So it will be very clear. All the text on that sign has been reviewed by our communications director.

and we really just wanted to capture the eyes of people walking by, let them know about the project and the different elements and we think it's going to look really nice in the final form. and so that's the one educational sign and then there's also eight small post and panel plant label signs that we received funding for. So these will just be sporadically placed along the pathway. So as you're walking along the path, the little plant label signs will go with their corresponding trees or plants. and it will just be an aluminum, a small aluminum sign very similar to what you would see at like an arboretum or something and it will be etched with a image of the plant and then a short description. So these are really intended to kind of draw attention to some of the great trees and plants we're putting out there and some of the benefits that they serve to wildlife.

So I can definitely answer any questions about the signs themselves or the project. And yeah, I'm excited that it's kind of wrapping up. We're going to have a ribbon cutting probably mid to late summer once the plantings have some time to... actually look full and pretty. And so definitely I would love to have you all come out to that.

Thanks, Meredith. Anybody have any questions?

No questions, just this is a very exciting project. Thanks for your work on it, and I look forward to the ribbon cutting and getting down there and seeing everything.

Thanks. Very nice. Okay, is there a motion?

Move to approve the signage for 21 Sawmill Lane and the Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway. Second.

Discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Thank you. Thank you guys. Thank you for the work. Appreciate it.

Thanks.

Okay. Now, Sustainability Advisory Committee, come on up.

Welcome. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. My name is Michael De Winter. I'm the chairman of the Sustainability Advisory Committee, and I'm joined tonight by three other members of the Sustainability Advisory Committee, by Emily O'Connell, Dave Ward, and Deb Harrison. There are others who would have been here but had conflicts tonight. And on behalf of the entire board, I really want to thank you for allowing us to come and just give a quick update on the things we've been working on. and just express that we're very eager to update you and partner with you on things that you want to see us focus on. so we can have a successful committee. What I thought I would do is just kind of talk through the slides quickly and then reserve time at the end for questions and discussion. So let's jump right into it. So we have identified three areas really to focus our energies.

They are waste reduction, decarbonization and energy savings, and communication. We went through a process of considering other goals. We went through a voting process and ranked various initiatives that we might focus on. And we landed on these three kind of key objectives. So in the area of waste reduction, we've been working to conceptualize a program called Skip the Stuff. which may sound familiar to many of you. It's a blanket term for programs that seek to encourage restaurant owners to only provide take out customers that which is asked for in the way of utensils or condiments or other things that oftentimes are included in takeout orders that customers don't actually need or want.

So we've been working with Dedham Square Circle to conceptualize a pilot program that we can launch here in Dedham Dedham Square Circle is very excited about it. They see it as a great opportunity for their member restaurants to save money, but also save on costs that come from Saving of these utensils that ultimately get thrown away or just not used and piling up in people's drawers at home. The next area that I want to talk about, just also in the area of waste reduction, we, as we do each year, participated recently in the town-wide recycling program. A number of us volunteered there and gave out tree saplings, which are generously provided by DPW. We also promoted the town's compost bin program with a little flyer so we had some good conversations with people, let them know that the town sells compost bins for $25 and talk to them about

how successful that is as a means of reducing household waste that would otherwise go into the trash. and also in the area of, so the other main objective, decarbonization and energy savings. There's a program that the Mass Save runs. It's called the EBCX program. It's Existing Building Commissioning Program. and what it is is a program that MassSave teams up with municipalities and they do a survey of existing systems at buildings to identify tweaks that can be made to how those systems are operating. The goal being to find energy savings through fine tuning of all of that equipment. Dave Ward who's on the committee has some real firsthand experience with this program and he brought this to our attention but also to the attention of the facilities management team.

We met with Matt Hafner a couple weeks back to see if the program might be a good fit for Dedham. And he's looking into whether this could be something that the town could avail itself of. Also in the area of decarbonization and energy savings, a quick update on the Massachusetts Climate Leader Communities Program. The town has two more steps to take to be qualified for that program. Those include adopting an EV first policy and also officially accepting the municipal decarbonization roadmap that was produced for the town in 2025. The opportunities to apply for that are twice each year, by June 30th and by December 31st. And to date, there's been now 35 cities and towns in Massachusetts that have qualified. And 12 of those cities have been awarded grants totaling $4.9 million to offset costs of projects that they are undertaking.

and those grants require only a 10% match from the towns or cities, which I think is quite attractive. and then finally communication is really just a goal that we have to support the other key two objectives. We have been partnering with the town staff on communications and make sure that we're helping to publicize various events and exploring other ways that we can highlight sustainability issues, whether in these two key focus areas or others. and one ongoing initiative is a review of the 2020 Climate Action Resiliency Plan, the Dedham Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, We met with town staff and department heads a couple weeks back and reviewed the numerous goals in that plan. The goal being to identify ones which we felt could be perhaps

highlighted and given renewed focus. So that's an ongoing initiative. and yeah, those are the key areas we've been focused on. So love to hear any questions people have or ideas. for how we can partner with the board.

Great. Thanks, Michael. Michelle, turn to you first since you're a member of the committee, right?

Yes, I think I've been a member of the committee just for about a year. have learned a lot in that time and still a whole lot more to learn because as you hear, I mean, there's just so much that they've been working on over time that I hadn't been aware of. and it's just a really impressive group that brings a lot of expertise and passion. and a variety of different roles and expertise to the committee. So I think they've been busy on things like events and working with town staff on advice. bringing resources to the community. So I'm excited that the whole group gets to kind of get caught up on what they've been up to and weigh in. I think some of the stuff I wasn't so aware of is how much they have been a resource to our staff and whether it be the

you know MassSAFE type program and working with Matt Hafner that I hopefully will end up meshing well with what's going on with the facilities master plan and then you know that climate plan from 2020 that really you hate to see that kind of work go into something and then be shelved. So with COVID coming after that and having them get back at it almost acting like an implementation committee to see what's been done and what's still relevant, what's still our goals, working with the staff to move on and so much else. I don't want to talk too much so you all can ask questions, but that's a lot of good stuff and a lot of great expertise on this committee.

Thank you. Anybody comments, questions, Erin?

Well, I'll start by saying I really appreciate this high-level overview. I think it's really helpful see the roadmap that you're working with and how you are shaping the work of the committee, your goals, and also the work that you're doing on revisiting plans that we have already created and our progress on them and what is feasible, et cetera, is a great path for the committee. So I appreciate your work in doing that. You asked how the committee can partner with the board. What would you say are opportunities that you're looking for

in terms of board leadership or board discussions or assistance with priority setting as the bridge between the committee. and the work of the town. That's an important role. What would you find useful? Are there obstacles that you're looking to overcome? of this list, the specific items that you're looking for some additional support for to move forward, et cetera.

I guess on the Skip the Stuff initiative, that's one that we haven't had a chance to come before the board with before on. We've been working on that over the last couple of months conceptualize that. So I'd love to hear if there's any reservations or questions that you may have on that initiative. as I mentioned it's a pilot so with Dedham Square Circle's partnership we're looking to launch that in a very focused way with some restaurants in the square and maybe beyond that have an interest in that program. that might be good for a pilot. And then we'd love to be able to come back and let you know how that pilot went and kind of evaluate it with you all. and let you know how that goes. I would say also too, the Climate Leader Communities Program is one that we've been looking to

take advantage of for some time now. I'd love to hear if there are further questions that board members have that we can do some further research on. That's always something we're willing to do. and any other kind of sustainability initiatives that you think we should be focused on, please reach out. We've got a very, as you said, Michelle, kind of interested group of people who are willing to take on different topics and do some research and talk to others in neighboring towns and whatnot. see what we can do for advancing sustainability.

Great. Yeah, and so when we spoke with the committee last fall around the Climate Leader Community Program, I think a lot was kind of shared with us in a short amount of time. and it was a very dense material and I think there was a bit of a complication between there are two items which you pointed out. There's the EV first policy and there's the roadmap and those are two different issues and I think that to the extent that we can understand each of those individually rather than both at the same time would feel less overwhelming. But for the EV first policy, I think one question that we had outstanding was do we have an opportunity to potentially look at the language or make tweaks or revisions that might best serve Dedham. It is a model policy and my work and other types of model policies, there's opportunities to

Taylor, any policies for a specific city or town. So what flexibility might we have with that? And I think that that would require conversation with, is it D, E, P, E? The D-O-E-R. D-O-E-R. Around that. And maybe we can just see if that's an opportunity. But also, I think just kind of taking a step back and looking at each of those steps one at a time and having further conversations and understanding really, again, the scope of those steps one at a time would be helpful.

Okay, sure.

And then second, I know that you mentioned waste reduction and looking at the waste management solutions. and contracts that we'll need to revisit as a town shortly. this is not a question for you, but I think it would be helpful to have an update sometime soon on the transfer station status, where the work group is. but one thing that I had mentioned the last time we had like a round of discussions on our waste management is really looking, it's hard to

figure out how to make decisions around waste management when we have one group looking at a transfer station and that property, or how do we move forward, what are we doing there and I know that a lot of that is some of that is going to be tied up in the facilities master plan as well but and then we have the issues with the rising costs of our waste removal and what would those contract costs look like. So it would just be helpful to have Sustainability as one component of a broader conversation about our waste management again. It feels like something that we've been talking about for several years, and I know that I haven't really been comfortable yet in even knowing what I think is the best course for that.

But we're getting a little bit off topic, but only because I do think the sustainability is a component of that. So I guess I'm just requesting some kind of update on where we're at with those contracts and transfer station as well. But to the extent that the town could look to have certain specific questions answered of Sustainability Action Committee relevant to those conversations would be helpful.

Sure. Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you, Erin.

Sure. Thank you, Michael. So I have a question on the skip the stuff. Yes. I do, you know, I think reuse, recycle is old, reusing is what we should be doing, and then the skip the stuff, I mean, that's a really simple thing for people and businesses to be doing, right? And having it available if people need it, but not just throwing it in the bag, right? So I know that you said that you did a pilot in the Square.

We actually haven't done the pilot.

So you're going to start that pilot.

Yes.

Any other locations that you're thinking about doing that?

We haven't officially started the pilot. That's why we wanted to come to you tonight and kind of take your temperature and get your thoughts, if you have any. But we have been working with Anne Miranda on it and sort of... it feels like there's a lot of enthusiasm and she's talked to some restaurants already just to try and feel them out a little bit so We haven't launched it yet, but we're looking to.

And the group has talked about it doesn't necessarily have to be just the square if there's other restaurants interested too. That was just kind of a starting point to get the opinion through the square circle.

and then it would come back here for a more formal presentation and maybe moving forward or whatever the process is.

I think after the pilot we'd love to come back and give you an update on how it goes and and we can discuss whether it's been a success or not and potentially extending it.

And see if they want to be part of it. And then also... I think that's great. The other part, too, is just really, you know, we talk about, as I mentioned, the recycle we use and all that. I question sometimes recycling, right? Because I think it's because people like this false sense that they're really helping the planet sometimes with all of the recycling and then where does it go? again it's the communication and maybe working in that educational component to people that you can reuse your items and you know you have to How much water are you using when you're trying to wash out the mayonnaise out of that mayonnaise jar, right? And like it takes so long and what are we doing here and recycling it and then where does that go? I question that program and we talk about the cost of it. Can it improve? Can it take more items for recycling? I don't know.

I don't know what the answers are there. I'm looking for more education for even the adults in the room on how to recycle properly. I think I might have mentioned before the black Chinese containers. I thought forever those were recyclable. or maybe they are, but they're not with our program. So I don't know if there's different levels.

Yeah, no, we've talked to Joe Flanagan at times throughout my time on the committee, certainly about recycling and the education efforts that he undertakes to try and get consumers up to speed on what can and cannot be recycled.

It's really hard.

It is, yeah. There's a lot of different nuances to it.

Yeah, I mean, I would even love a sticker that I could put onto my recycling bin, in my home recycling bin. So when I open that drawer, I'm like, oh, I can put this, but I can't put that. because the few times that I've looked at our official poster list on the website, I don't remember that for a long time. But just thinking about having an education and communications program I think is a really great and low cost idea to make that program more efficient.

So, I mean, those are my two comments on that that I think are really important. And, you know, coming back to us, let us know how it goes and see if more restaurants would just volunteer to skip the stuff. Thank you.

Thank you all. Steven. Just real quick. Sorry for coming in late. Tough commute home. But thank you for coming and presenting this. Really excited to see items around waste reduction and especially on the climate leader communities. I think as a town we've done so much to get so close to this to being eligible for this grant program and there aren't that many grant programs that are a 10 to 1 or 1 to 10 match you know where we put down 10% so I think just making sure that's for our board to take a better look at down the road and as we consider taking those final two steps to opt in and be eligible for those grants. So I just want to thank you for the work you're doing.

Thank you. So Michael, ever since we talked a month or so ago when you mentioned about, you know, the skip, the stuff and plastic forks, Every time I go into a place, I'm looking, what are they throwing into my bag, and why not? I go to, in fact that was Halfway Cafe, we go there often to take, it's all takeout, and they have, they don't throw anything into the bag, but next to it, they have all the stuff wrapped up if somebody wants to take it. go to the Salem Food, get sandwiches during the week sometimes. They don't throw stuff in. Go to the Chinese restaurant in Dedham Square, they don't throw stuff in. So I think that there are some that don't do it now. There are others that probably do. And there's also some restaurants, and I'm not saying this is happening in Dedham,

that are charging people for for plastic utensils. And I've heard of a $2 charge for a plastic utensil. So my point on that is that this is a cost to the businesses to buy this. Now granted, if you're getting lunch and you're on the road, yeah, you need to, we're not saying you're not gonna get a knife, you're not gonna get a fork, you're not gonna get a soup spoon, but you just have to ask for it, not the automatic. So I think that this program, when you get up and running in the square, is gonna be, I think it's gonna be very successful in the square. And I can think of a lot of other places beyond the square, especially, We have a group of fast food restaurants. We have Chick-fil-A. we have Dave's Hot Chicken.

So we have some of those other places that probably, what do they do, what they don't, and I think when you expand and go to the corporate side, That's going to be an interesting take on what do they do? How can they change? And how can they help us? Because I think if you can get the small businesses to do it, the corporate entities I think are pretty, it might be easy, it might be difficult, but I commend the group to doing this and wholeheartedly endorse endorsed Skip the Stuff. We're not just talking about the plastic, we're talking about ketchup, we're talking about salt and pepper. and if Dennis Teehan was here, he'd tell me they shouldn't be throwing salt and pepper into your bag anyways. But anyway, so interesting to see how that makes up.

One other area that when we talk about energy savings, that it would be great to see. So I've noticed the school department has put up solar panels, right, in the parking lots? I couldn't tell you what are they doing in regards to energy generation, energy savings. And I think as the sustainability committee, maybe that is something that you should help them to reach out so that the town programs, like that's a good program that's up and running. but what is it doing? What is it generating? So to communicate back, I know there's folks that have solar now, I know my church, St. Susanna's, they've had solar there for forever and it pays for itself.

It has paid for itself in the generation of electricity, not only for the rectory, for the church. So it'd be interesting if you can find a couple of lodge within our community. either businesses or of course the schools that have had it and what is their experience, what has... what have they learned, and most so on the cost. So that's something that, I would be personally interested in seeing how that is going. Sure, we can definitely take that on. So with that, thank you all for coming in. Thank you all for your time and effort. And you know, maybe when you start leave the stuff in the store maybe in the fall, Michelle.

After you get a couple of months and let's see how it is and come on back and tell us yes it worked and then talk about the larger. And I think that's going to, you've mentioned one of your key points, communication. And that's going to be key to this particular program, partnering. Sustainability, The Town, and Denham Square Circle to communicate to the restaurants. We're not telling them you have to do it, saying, you know, try it, let's see what happens. Thanks for all.

Can I just say, on that, it's also communicating to the residents, right? Right. And through the channels as well too. So it's not an uproar I went in. Right. They didn't have a spoon for me. Exactly.

Right, right.

Sorry. Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks for coming in. Thanks so much. Thanks.

Thank you.

Okay, next item on the agenda is the inter-municipal agreement with the town of Westwood Animal Control, Leon.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So as the board may recall, or some board members may recall, a few years ago, the town of Dedham entered into an inter-municipal agreement with the town of Westwood relative to our animal control officer. and at the time Westwood had reached out to us. They were transitioning their animal control services and they were looking for some support from the town of Dedham potentially. We have a very capable animal control office here in town. Our calls are very high in comparison to Westwood's just because some so the nature of our town versus their town in many respects and the way that they also utilize their police department to respond to calls so we thought that it would be a very low burden for our animal control officer we worked with the union we worked with the Police Chief, and our Animal Control Officer to enter into an agreement that has largely worked well for both communities over the last several years.

It's nearing its expiration at the end of June. Westwood reached out to us and asked if we would be willing to extend it. So we have it in front of the board tonight. It does require select board approval in both towns in order to approve an inter-municipal agreement. One thing that we did note, though, is that the number of calls as were estimated originally for Westwood has increased. And therefore, we're recommending an increase in the cost share to reflect that. where it's $4,000 per year currently. We're recommending that it go up to $7,000 per year in FY 27, and then $10,000 per year in FY28 and 29, which the $10,000 would cover roughly 10% of the salary and benefits, which is the call volume is about 10%.

Westwood did ask us to step that up over two years because they don't have that budget in their FY27 budget, and that's the reason for that, but I think there are other ways that we're gonna try to work out some cost sharing to make it even between the two towns as well. So again, very similar agreement as previously, looking at just increasing the cost share and we're also going to work on having Westwood reimbursed for overtime hours as well because the number of overtime hours has increased a little bit in Westwood and we don't want to take on that burden either.

Okay, thank you. Questions? to meet you.

I have some questions. So there's a lot of you're looking into this. Then why is this in front of us now?

just to see if there's an appetite to move forward with the negotiation. So we're not voting on anything, just if the- No, to authorize the town manager to negotiate the agreement.

Okay. because I'd be very curious on 10,000, 5,000, 7,000, 8,000, however it's gonna work, the scale, is that really covering how much she's, or the dog officer will put her out of it, not in our town, right? And is it really a financial plus for us or is it a financial plus for? Westwood. I don't, I'm not trying to not be a good neighbor. I just want to make sure that this is a cost effective, you know, for both towns. So I do have a little bit of concern on what that is. Yeah, so. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else?

My only other question is is it just the salary that we're sharing? It's not facilities or overhead to accommodate offices and vehicles?

No, Westwood provides an office and computer and things of that nature. In Westwood, for when the animal control officer is working out of that town, we provide it for here. Through a capital budget, we did procure a new vehicle. Is that last year, Chief? So we procured a new vehicle for use in Dedham. And so we sort of split those expenses out. We can definitely take a harder look at what costs potentially could be further split between the two towns, but we did just look at salary and benefits to start.

Thanks. Okay. Michelle?

Yeah, so I was glad to hear about this, you know, always applaud kind of regional efforts for their cost savings and efficiencies, and I know the deficit reduction plan suggested we look into other ways that we might regionalize some of our operations as well. I think my questions have pretty much been answered. I was curious about the number. I saw that it was 10% of the calls and I was assuming 4,000 wasn't the 10%. so I think like others have said I would just urge it's hard to believe they can't find the to get up to 10 now, but if you can find other ways, I would just push to make sure that it's fair, as fast as we can get it to be fair. And then, I was going to ask about the office space, too, because I know the agreement mentioned Westwood, and I wasn't sure if that was the only office or just for when the person's there, right? So yeah, assuming that the chief thinks that it's working out and I think it makes sense to keep doing as long as we're just getting our fair compensation.

Thank you. Steven.

Just real quick, I'll echo sort of the sentiments of the Vice Chair. because I think if we're looking at call volume and how that relates proportionally, even if they are covering their share of proportionality, that's still time the officer is out of Dedham and not necessarily able to respond to Dedham calls so that's just one thing that I have in mind but another question would be out of the categories of these calls are there any that are like a five minute response versus like an hour to two hour response and like does that match up proportionally as well? Just again, like if, the calls from Westwood are 10%, but they're taking up double the time that the calls from Dedham do on average. That's not really 10%. So just thinking through that, I don't know if we'll have an answer tonight. I'm definitely not against this, I just kind of want that to be thought about.

Sure, I can definitely dig into that a little bit more anecdotally, talking to the ACO. and having worked alongside the ACO on some thorny sort of animal issues here in Dedham, there are certainly types of calls that take up much more time. and from my understanding that many of the Westwood calls in fact are resolved via telephone with the animal control officer but I can double check with her and see if there are is a proportionality where there's certainly other calls that are taking up way more time and it doesn't reflect in the 10%.

Anybody else? The only comment I have is that this is a Is it a one-year contract, two-year contract? It's proposed to be three-year. Three years. That there be a cost escalation or a... a term that allows to recalculate based on previous year's call volume and use. That's all. Thank you. What is the wish of the board?

So this would just be an authorization to speak with them, and then you would bring it back to us for a final vote.

That was my understanding.

OK. All right. Move to authorize the town manager to work with the Westwood town administrator to update and finalize the terms of the intermunicipal agreement with the town of Westwood to provide animal control services.

Second. Thank you. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Thank you. So we'll maybe have that on the agenda in a future meeting in July. We'll aim for July. Okay. Thanks, Leah. All right, next item on the agenda is the discussion on the extension of on-premises license to sell alcohol for one additional hour. I ask that this be put on the agenda since it was just passed by the legislature and signed by the governor recently. and I wanted to give us an opportunity to have a conversation and the reason why it is before anything else depends upon what the wish of the board is, whether we go forward or not. are not. I do have my personal opinion, but I will wait until others talk.

I'm going to start with Stephen. It's interesting watching, I think there's been a mixed reaction from communities across the Commonwealth. I do know that we don't, utilize the full extent of the liquor license law currently. So we cut off licenses by 1 a.m. rather than 2 a.m. So this would just bring us actually in line with the maximum under the existing law and what we'll go back to the law in August. and so forth. I do look at things like the Robin Reyes Fund, which funds, you know, it's our major capital stabilization fund, and that food and alcohol tax goes directly to that, so that's just a consideration. I know the legislature put it forward and the governor signed it as an economic development tool and also sort of to be able to evaluate during this very fun time of the World Cup.

And I don't know if anyone has witnessed the Scots taking over Boston, but it's been incredible. And so just I think there is an opportunity here for a very short term to sort of study this within the town. I think shifting from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., can certainly have drawbacks, but I don't know that over the next month and a half it will be such a negative that it's something that we shouldn't explore. So at this point, I'm inclined to vote in favor of us extending the alcohol licensees by an additional hour, but happy to hear from members of the board and definitely open to changing my mind.

Michelle?

I just have a couple questions to make sure that I understand it. Am I right that it doesn't matter if there's a World Cup game even on? It doesn't matter if you even show it? Is this anybody with an existing WICRA license? and they can go one hour beyond what they currently go, not just a 2 a.m. if they currently only go to 10 or something like that, right?

Right, and I will also point out that This is a liquor. This is for the alcohol extension. So as part of our entertainment license, I believe that includes, if you have a TV.

No, not TVs. Not TVs? I haven't heard. I did speak with Lauren. She was... Teehees are not part of our entertainment license. Entertainment is live music, dancing, a doofus. or something of that nature. So the additional one hour would be similar to the extension you do. By law, licenses in Dedham may serve alcohol for one hour. So our extension would be 2 a.m.

So even if they currently close at 10, because their liquor license is allowed to go to 1 a.m., even if they close at 10. So they could decide, I currently close at 10, but for this time period, I'm going to stay open until...

Unless their license hours are restricted by a vote of the board at the time the license was issued, and I do not believe we have any of those remaining. So even though they operate 10, 11, midnight, they can extend by one hour.

So the one point is that they do have to apply to the town. So they have to apply. in order to take advantage.

But if we say yes to one or do we need to say yes to others, can we hold past violations against establishment into consideration?

Our next meeting is July 28th.

23rd.

So that's another, an additional week.

So my only other thing that I'm weighing, I don't really feel strongly one way or another on this, but I get the money making part of it, but I'm wondering, and I don't know that we can quantify this, but additional costs for enforcement and monitoring or issues that might come up that the Police Department is going to need to deal with or just a presence. So I don't know if there's been any talk or it's probably not an answerable question. I don't know.

Well, so we did, the police chief is back here, and we did talk to Chief Don Tremont, and certainly I think if this were to have widespread adoption, it may impact our ability to serve as multiple calls during the evening. We may have to bring on more officers. In this limited instance with, as we see, only one applicant this evening, I don't think that would stretch our resources so thin as to require any additional resources. But again, the chief is here tonight, and I'm sure address that question more directly. But I think on a limited basis, it wouldn't likely have a significant impact on our costs.

That's it. Dimitria?

I don't have an issue with extending till the 2 a.m. If we do go forward with this. I would want people to know that it does not include live music going until 2 a.m., that it's still falling under whatever our entertainment laws are and regulations. Right? It would still...

Thank you. Erin?

I mean, some of my questions were answered. My one question was, would we have to approve all, but we only have one request that have come through. so far. And there's really not an opportunity for additional requests to come in. So we would, because of our schedule and the limited time. I mean, a couple of things. I'm not opposed to having a short period of time for something like this to happen. However, I don't feel that this was designed for us. as a town. I think it makes sense in Boston. We've seen that they're running out of alcohol in Boston and that there is a lot of economic opportunity and also just the opportunity for the city to have a lot of fun during this really exciting and unique period of time

I'll also take this opportunity to say one more time that I think it was a significant missed opportunity when our commuter rail stops were cut off. from access to the Boston Stadium. I think that that hurt us. I think that we see that in our hotel vacancies. and other opportunities. So here's a law that really isn't designed for us in an event that really wasn't designed for us to participate in in that economic development way. So I'll give one more meeting where I get to say that. I'm not opposed to this short term. I would say I probably have zero interest in extending this beyond this one unique opportunity, and I think it has limited value here as it is. I'm not...

I don't see it as a significant economic opportunity given the timing, the fact that it really isn't designed for us, the fact that we've been cut out of this opportunity to begin with. and really just an opportunity for a limited number of businesses or business to stay open an hour later.

Thank you. So I think the intention of this piece of legislation was clearly to help those that were hosting lots of people, lots of hotel rooms, the Airbnbs are overflowing in some places, in some places they're not. So I think this was, this was to me geared to not just the World Cup, but also for the, you know, for the tile ships and the 4th of July. And that's all happening in the city of Boston. in the city of Boston that has resources to deal with the extended hours. Now, I know that There's a lot within the city that have adopted this. But there's some on the outskirts, places that have chosen not to.

and when I asked about the TVs, there is one community that the TVs are a part of the entertainment license. So the entertainment license was at two o'clock and when they adopted the three o'clock, they shut the TVs off and so what are people doing? Sitting and drinking and talking. They voted to fix it. Did they fix it? Yeah. So there's sort of a case where people that haven't watched parties, it makes sense. To me, I was surprised that we just had one application. I did talk to a local owner of a restaurant bar, and he told me, he goes, I have no desire to make my staff stay another hour at night after the long hours that they're working. He goes, it's hard enough to get help and to keep, he said, I have no desire.

And he owns multiple, he has multiple locations. And I think you hear that from some, in the industry that the impact of an additional hour is stretching their day. Now, stretching a day from, you know, three o'clock, I know it's different than two. but if you're closing at two, by the time you're getting out, now you're after three, 3.30, four o'clock, and by the time you get home. And for those that have the three o'clock, Folks aren't getting home until 6 o'clock in the morning. It's a long, long day. So as you can tell, I am not in favor of this. And I think that when I look at statewide, the number of communities that have, communities similar to us that have adopted it, I don't know of any. I'm not aware of any.

I think it's been maybe, you know, it's in the low numbers. Less than maybe 20, less than that. I tried to get the number the other day, but I'm sure it has gone up because other people are taking it up. That's just my opinion. And I get it, it's only one place in Dedham. and even though I'm gonna say no to this, I will listen to the next one and hear what their plan is, but I'll stop, okay? All right, what is the wish of the board? Can I have a motion, please?

Move to approve the temporary extension for on-premises licensees to sell alcohol beverages for one additional hour said additional hour being up to 2 a.m. with said extension expiring on July 31st, 2026.

Second. Discussion? Hearing none, on the vote. Erin.

Yes.

Steven. Yes. Michelle. Yes. Dimitria. Yes. Chair votes no. Thank you. Our next item on the agenda, we have an application from one for the extension of of one additional hours until 2 a.m. Is the restaurant online?

Did we hear back from them?

Not there? Okay. He was told to be here to talk about what they want to do. We can keep this item open until the end of the meeting in case in case the individual, the owner or the manager comes. Okay? All right. Although, okay. Chief, come on up, please. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you. So we have on the, I asked an item to be put on the agenda, e-bicycles and scooters. E-scooters, not scooters.

Last week I was on my way to work, I was getting gas at the Speedway down in Riverdale on Bridge Street. And as I was pulling out of my street onto Bridge, I saw a scooter went by on the sidewalk. Young man going to the middle school. It was that time of the morning. Zooming down the sidewalk. and then when I was getting gas, I saw another scooter on the sidewalk with two young boys, one in the front driving, the other in the back with a backpack, of course none of them had helmets on. And as they were going by Pam's Market, there was a pickup truck that was coming out.

Now, pickup truck didn't pay attention, the boys didn't pay attention, and the pickup truck struck the backpack of the young boy in the back, knocking him off. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. Get up, probably shaken up, and just kept on going. And as I'm watching this happen, this is ridiculous that that these e-bikes are going everywhere and scooters going everywhere and it's been going on for a long time. And especially what bothers me the most is that they don't have helmets on. and that is, I'm sorry, we started a bike helmet program a long time ago. I know the police continues to have the bike helmet program.

But for parents not to let their kids get on bikes without helmets on, it's a disaster waiting to happen. And so I had asked the chief to come in and by the way, I did send the communication to the superintendent and to the chief and we had back and forth and I said, well, let's have, a conversation. And I know, Stephen, that the Senate has a bill. that the governor had passed, the Senate 3077 that will address some of these things. But I thought it was an opportunity to, as we're getting into the summer months, to have a, just to have a conversation and invite the Chief in. So Chief?

Any specific questions for me?

Tell us what the department is seeing, what you have done in social media, and what do you think can help with this situation throughout Dedham.

OK. So there's a lot of variety of different vehicles that are out on the roadways these days that people have. I think it does get a little complicated as far as what is what. but what we did last year is copied what another department had done and the assistance of Lieutenant Connolly and Amanda Smith put together a page on the police department's website that outlines basically with e-bikes and what the rules are and also touches on e-scooters. So we do see them out there. people probably don't understand how they're supposed to use these vehicles and the dangers that are inherent in them. I think you're absolutely correct with helmets that people don't wear them.

You need two. There are people too young that are using these vehicles. They're not using them correctly. Like you mentioned, two on a scooter. Well, you're not supposed to do that. No passengers on scooters. And you're also supposed to be 16. So we have tried to push the information out. our officers have all been provided with the information and encouraged to talk to people when they see people out on the street that aren't operating correctly. A lot of it, It's really at home that people need to realize the dangers with these vehicles, the speeds that they can get at, the scooters, the e-bikes, the weight on e-bikes. If you crash or crash into people, you really can do a lot of damage.

So, Chief, do you think that, well, I'm going to let others talk, because I can go on with this one. Erin, what's your thoughts?

I think it sounds like what we're talking about is how we can educate families about the rules around e-bike and scooter use. Is that a good focus for the conversation? Sure, we can stop there.

Yeah, rules and safety, because there may be some safety things that are beyond where the rules are.

Right, right. Yeah, and so what are we currently doing to communicate with families about rules and safety around?

We put together copying what another department had done. a web page that has information on e-bikes and e-scooters is what we put out. I can't recall if we did any other specific posts on social media. I just can't remember off the top of my head right now.

And is there any collaboration with the schools to put that into their regular newsletters or signs?

The information that we have is all provided to the schools.

Okay, and their post, I'm just trying to remember if I've noticed it. I don't know that I would have been looking out for that information, but that that's going out in there. weekly emails and things like that. Or posters in the schools or...

I assume so, but I can't tell you. One thing that I did see in another local community last fall was they had sandwich board signs out in the center of town that basically spelled out what the rules are with e-bikes and scooters where you can ride them. You can't ride them. I can't remember what else was on that, but I mean, I think that the information needs to get out in more places.

Yeah, and maybe we could use the... and the blinking signs that go up. The traffic signs where you can put messages. Perhaps there could be some messaging there.

Get some tidbits. You have limited characters you can get out there. But yeah, you could get some type of messaging.

and I think some kids are using them to go to school as well. So maybe some signage around the bike racks or something like that.

Yeah, I think that's the point, Darren, is that especially if they're under 16, they're not supposed to be on. And if they're driving them to school, there has to be, I know we're at the end of the school year, but I think starting next year, there needs to be, I think, a strong educational that if your child is driving an e-bike to school, they might have to come and pick them up at the end of the day because they're not gonna be able to drive home on it. I think we have to get, we gotta get strong on this because if we don't, and I know you know Demetrius probably talking about some of the horrific things that have happened lately to some some kids you know on the bikes it's just I think that's the answer.

And then hopefully, if this legislation passes, I think we'll give some additional tools and maybe Steven can talk about that in a few minutes.

So that 16 was on the E-scooters. E-men. Bikes. I don't think there is an E. Very confusing. Yeah.

But that means we shouldn't be seeing any E-scooters at elementary schools or even the middle school. Is that 16? you're at in high school, right? So it seems like that would be a great place for enforcement and signage. Like if somebody comes around and takes all the scooters that are at the middle school.

And are the problems mostly around the scooters? I mean, I know we have e-bikes in here, but you're still pedaling those, right? I mean, I don't know. They can go up. I have very little information.

They can go up to 25, 30 miles an hour, some of these e-bikes. There's different size batteries.

On the e-bikes, yeah. technically not supposed to be going over 20 miles an hour. If it's over 20, it's considered a motorized bike and not an e-bike. So the rules change.

but behaviors don't. Right. Right. I mean, it might just be worth discussing as a group because I think that there's, I do think that I've seen some Ridden to the high school. I'm not sure of the age of the students who are riding them. And I don't want to dissuade that. I mean, there's a ton of traffic in front of all of our schools for cars dropping off kids. And e-bikes do contribute. to some level of physical activity and whatnot. But it seems that it's perhaps just worth some kind of series of conversations around how we protect our young people and enforce these rules.

Any other comments? Who's next?

So, I mean, this is, as you know, I've called you before on certain things, even seeing a Vespa on Route 128. which was the last thing that I had seen. I have seen crazy things happening on these bikes and so in my opinion riding a bike that is not doesn't have any motor, that's exercise. The other, they just go faster and faster. They're a bigger bike. they're more dangerous, they go in and out of traffic, they go on sidewalks. I did a lot of research and I've been doing research on it because I do think that we actually do need to have some sort of regulations. And I know that the state has their regulations coming, but I know that there are also municipalities who have done their own bylaws. that there were fines that were involved because I can sit here and talk about education all day long to parents and they know.

I don't think that there are a lot of parents out there that don't know that their children should have a helmet when they're riding a bike. and I get it in some instances your child could have the helmet on when they leave the house and then the helmet goes someplace else. and I understand that and that's where I also think that officers talking to the kids, pulling them over, if they're under 16 and they're without a helmet, I agree. You have to come and get your bike. You have to come and get your scooter. There are laws and there's reasons. In some of my research, recently there was a young boy that was in, I think it was Hingham. that was walking on the sidewalk and he got hit by an e-bike and broke his arm. That's a great summer for him. There was a gentleman in Boston who was just crossing on the crosswalk and got hit by an e-bike and the way he hit his head, he ended up passing away. delivery drivers on their bikes.

I mean, this goes into not just scooters and not just e-bikes, but even these things, they're not registered. That's an issue. Delivery... Bikes that are delivering the pizzas and going in and out and they don't follow rules because they can scoot around and you go to take a right-hand turn and they're coming up and it's a disaster waiting to happen. and it's a disaster in my opinion also for the person driving the car who's always considered the person who did something wrong because you were distracted or you didn't see this or you should be well aware And sometimes you're not distracted or you are looking at something that's in front of you and someone, you know, comes out, steps out in front of you. I'm bigger than you. I'm going to hurt you. So how does that driver feel the rest of their lives if they've injured somebody and they've injured a young person on a scooter that didn't have a helmet?

I mean, there's so much that goes into this. As the chair had mentioned, I did do a lot of research on this. And what I'm seeing in people's behaviors, walking on Route 1 with a baby carriage. Who's doing this? Walking on Route 1 with a baby carriage, right? You know, Providence Highway. Who would do that? that I don't understand. So I do think that we as a community need to really think of what the next thing is and I'm not saying that we start ticketing kids and arresting, I'm not saying that whatsoever, but I think as a community we need to do something to pull this back in. and not allow this to happen to get out of control, not wait for it to get out of control. That's my opinion. That's what I have to say so far.

Who knows what I'll have to say in two minutes, but that's what I have to say so far.

so you know number one we want people to be safe I think that's the motivation that we all have here right so there's you know making sure people are following laws and making sure people are being safe. And I think that sounds like it comes down to education and enforcement. I think we also need to be careful that for people that are using things safely and appropriately that we don't limit the appropriate legal and safe ways. I mean, there are people that this is the way that they can get around, you know, economically or to Save on Traffic, It's Good for the Environment, all of that. So there's different adults on an e-bike safely using that to get to the train or to get somewhere it needs to happen. Somebody walking down Route 1 on a baby carriage probably has no other way to get where they need to go.

Not on Route 1. Not on Route 1. Oh, like on the street. No, on the street.

Let me be clear about that. Not the sidewalk. On the street. So, yeah, I think it's, you know, it's just kind of maybe thinking what is the right... who leads this effort, like what committee do we have or department we have that should be thinking about all these different things, you know, because enforcement, you know, falls somewhat on the police department, but I think the schools have a big, what we're talking about for you know, kids at middle school or elementary school using these in ways that are not safe. I mean, I've seen and heard of so many horrendous stories as well. So how do we get that without limiting people's freedoms and the benefits that people get from using alternative transportation that's not cars? I would just like to find a path forward for really thoughtful decision making around this, but we can't ignore it because it is a safety concern.

Stephen?

I think that's covered a lot of anything that I was thinking about. I guess just, you know obviously we're approaching summer so it's sort of limited time for school resource officers to be engaging on this but I don't know if there's a way that you know come September start a school that's like a point of emphasis or something to that effect where school resource officers are are proactively encouraging. I think the education can go far, but I think it also can only go so far. I think, like the Vice Chair said, kids leave the house with a helmet on and they toss it in their backpack the second they're out of sight. And kids are kids. So just having school resource officers as those trusted adults who can kind of communicate, A, if a behavior is illegal, to not be doing it, but if the behavior is unsafe and can be made safer through a helmet, I feel like school resource officers can be those trusted adults in the building that are able to have those conversations.

So just a thought as school might roll back around.

Thanks, Steven. And so we're trying to schedule chair, vice chair meeting, and I do plan on bringing this up as one of the items with the chair and the vice chair of the school committee so that they can put it on on their radar and maybe have some discussion at their meeting because I think it has to be a combined effort of the town and the schools to put together you know an educational program for this prior to starting in school of what goes what goes to the homes before school starts and then you know start sometime in September with sort of ramping it up. And then I think you only go so far with the education and say this is what we're gonna do. And then if people continue to

continue to ignore, then I think it comes time to have the parents come up and get the bikes, or get the scooters. Most of these kids don't have the, the e-bikes. I think e-bikes is a different situation. And they said, come here, drive it home tonight, drive it up Needham Street. On the sidewalk, there was a woman on an e-bike. She had a helmet on, but she was riding on the sidewalk. going down going down towards you know towards the towards the pizza shop. And I know your department has a lot to do, and I think just as increasing awareness to, I know there's all sorts of citing for motor vehicle violations, and I know they do this, staging at various locations, and maybe at some point, Chief,

to just sort of highlight this just as a monitor of the safety concerns, especially of the electronic Bikes, which are more so the adults that are riding those. And then we can deal with the school situation. and I think the resource officer, as Steven mentioned, is also a good start, especially when school starts, to have them outside the schools, when the kids pull up with the bikes, give them this and they'll probably put it in their backpack and never take it out. And also to the PTOs, extend this to the PTOs about the safetiness of not only their child, but the people that they're coming across.

as they're driving on the sidewalks or they're driving through Dedham Square. I mean, I figure when you're coming from Riverdale and you go into middle school, you know, you're going through Dedham Square and that's extremely, extremely dangerous with the amount of cars that go through there. So I think we'll probably follow up with this in September and let's see what we can, Leon, work with the superintendent on some type of program and the chief. before school starts. I don't know when school starts this year. Is it in August?

Yeah, before Labor Day for the first time.

Before Labor Day?

It's still September. In a social media campaign where it's not summer, I don't know if there's other towns that have flyers with the main facts about rules and safety that we could get out there.

Thank you. And Steven, is this bill going to pass?

I looked. It has not yet received a hearing. Actually, the hearing was May 28th. Great question. It is very late in the legislative session, though. And so late files of new topics don't always go that far immediately. But we will see. I will keep you posted if anything changes.

Yeah, the governor filed this, well, her letter is May 4th, so it really is not that long ago. So thank you. Thanks, Chief. Thank you.

Okay.

Next item on the agenda is the call for a hearing. Fusion.

Move to schedule a compliance failure hearing for Orchid 7 Fusion Bar and Grill on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

Is there a second? Second.

Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor?

Aye.

Thank you. All the new business, and then we have executive session afterwards. Steven?

Nothing, I don't think, except if, so I imagine if the applicant does not show up.

Oh, right. We didn't finalize that yet.

Michelle, all the new business?

Just a busy weekend. The town cleanups continue with some sites Saturday, and then we have both Juneteenth and Pride back-to-back on Memorial Field, so I hope people take advantage of that on June 20th.

Thank you. Dimitria?

I don't have anything this time.

Erin?

Nothing new, no.

Thank you. We do have reason for executive session, but before we do that, we'll give one more call if... The manager, is anybody on? Amber, okay.

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, yes.

So we received a, so the... The Juneteenth event that Dan O'Neill puts together is usually on the Anaconda State. They have a volley of muskets at some point during their during their event, and usually the chief grants that for Endicott Estate, but because it's the town green, the chief said come to the select board. So we just received this today. What is the wish of the board? It's an item not on the agenda.

Move to take an item not on the agenda.

Is there a second?

Second.

Discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye.

Can I just ask, how do we, when this type of thing happens, how do we let neighbors and things know? I know there's concerns about dogs and veterans and loud noises, and I wonder how, I don't know how important it is to the event, in such a busy area that isn't used to having it, I have a little bit of concern.

Sure.

I would say I've gone to

the event at Endicott before. It's very quick, very quick when they do it. It's nothing too major.

Right, a musket firing is muffled. So it's probably not as loud as a combat firing. Put it that way. So is there a motion?

I'd move to approve the request for the musket to be fired.

Is there a second?

Second.

Discussion? and Henry Nunn. I'm gonna do this, try it. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Thank you. And we would ask, please let Dan know that The expectation is that he drops something in the Franklin Square area.

Okay? Just on that, where it's happening on the town green and where Anne Moran is on, I don't know if it's possible just to send a little... Blastout, too, Dedham Square Circle members, just so they're aware, so that if they hear anything or their patrons hear anything.

Good idea. We will convey that message to Ann tomorrow. tonight, and ask her to do it. Thank you. Okay. move to enter into executive session pursuant to Mass General Law 38, Section 21-3 to discuss strategy relating to litigation known versus Golby versus Tom and Dedham, Massachusetts, lay in court Case 21, Miss 642, Ngobi v. Town of Dedham et al., Norfolk Superior Court, Case number 1982CV00646, in General Law 3821, section six to consider the purchase exchange lease of value of real property if the chair declares that discussing these matters in open meeting may have a detrimental effect to litigate position of the board. Is there a second? Is there a motion?

So, second.

In second. On the vote, Erin.

Yes.

Steven. Yes. Michelle.

Yes.

Dimitria?

Yes.

And a chair vote yes. And before we adjourn this to move to the executive session, I want to wish all the dads out there a happy Father's Day on Sunday.

Thank you.