Select Board - March 26, 2026

Good evening, everyone.

I'll call to order the Select Board meeting of March 26, 2026. I'll rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

Okay, we'll start with Dedham Citizens, open discussion. Come on here for open discussion, Susan.

Hi, everyone. My name is Susan Butler, and I live at 60 Clark Street. And I'm here to make a comment on the follow-up comment that I made about a month ago regarding the situation regarding Jimmy Sullivan. So I think Dedham should have a new slogan. And that slogan should be Dedham residents for Dedham jobs. As I mentioned about a month ago, it was very upsetting, not only by myself, but many people across town who found out that Jimmy was not hired to be the building manager. and we all know that the town didn't have any intent to hire them because a job posting went out that if you've been around for a while, you know when they post a job, a position that you want, that you qualify for, but it's written in a way to exclude you.

In addition to that, just a reminder, Dedham paid a consultant $9,500 to draft that job. at a time when, since the year 2000, we've been on a fiscal cliff. So $9,500 may be not enough to people at Town Hall. In my world, almost $10,000 is $100,000. So moving on from that, as I mentioned a month ago, over the years we've heard stories about people from Dedham interviewing for jobs. or not getting a job, not getting an interview, either getting an interview and not getting any other type of letter from the town, and then only to find out a person from outside of Dedham got the job. Now, I'd like to say, of course, the person has to be qualified for that position. I think as adults, we can all. agreed to that.

Since then now, I found out another position. I won't name what area of the town because I don't want to get anyone in trouble because many people who work in areas like this always have that fear of retribution. But another person who interviewed for a position, qualified for the position, never got an interview, never got a letter, Since then, two people have been hired within this area of town government and neither one of them were from the town of Dedham. Frankly, I will say that hiring people from Dedham, I am very happy for my tax dollars to go to someone who resides in Dedham and works for the town of Dedham. I am happy for that.

I'm not happy when I continually hear these stories about residents who are qualified positions not even getting acknowledgement in any way, not even having the courtesy. It sounds like it's a systematic bias against Dedham residents to get jobs within Dedham. It does, time and time again. I've asked for data now. I emailed the town manager once looking to find out what the data is to prove me wrong since the year 2000 when we've been on this fiscal cliff. How many people have been hired? How many people have been interviewed from Dedham? How many people from Dedham got the job? There used to be a time in Dedham that positions like administrative assistants, custodian staff, would go to Dedham residence, right? I know from when I was on the school committee,

We recognized hiring of teachers was obviously up to the superintendent and we trusted the superintendent in that role. However, at the same time there has to be a balance and to give young people an opportunity to teach in the district or to work in the town that they graduated from or was raised in. It's a huge disappointment when we can't hire young people, people who have qualified the job and for some reason are unemployed. and they think, well, maybe this is my opportunity. I am qualified for this position. I am certified for this position. I have experience in this position. I need a job to support my family. And guess what? that person's not hired either. It's going to someone outside of Dedham. The city of Brookline, they make the first round of hires based on if you are a Brookline resident. Other towns in Massachusetts do that as well.

People's Senior Life, and I think it's M.W. Walker, the liquor distribution, right? The town negotiated a quota for them to hire Dedham residents. in a town hall, we can't even do that. I think it's a disgrace. and over the past few months I've been talking to other people and I'll tell you, people much rather have their tax dollars going to employ families and young people who live in Dedham. and it's not happening. There was one more statement I wanted to make. but I can't recall what it is. I would ask you to take a look at your hiring practices to find out what is going on.

because it is very disappointing that we are not looking at our own residents and going out of our way to help them and support them, especially those in need. And I will also add that again, Dedham jobs should be for Dedham people. Thank you, I appreciate your time.

Thank you. Anyone else here for open comment? Eli.

Eli Bossin, 131 Court Street. I've been previously serving as the Select Board's appointee to the Facility Master Plan Steering Committee, and I just wanted to briefly thank all of you for for putting your faith in me for that role, and particularly Dimitria for your leadership on that committee. For those of you who don't know, I was recently appointed as the associate member for the planning board. And as a consequence, because the planning board already has a member on the facility master plan committee, to keep the balance. I need to step away from the facility committee role. So because I won't be on it to give you a complete report at the end, I just wanted to share a couple brief things, observations from up until now.

without stepping on Dimitria's update from a couple weeks ago. One of the things I was able to do was take a little time out of the work day to join on three days of the walkthroughs for the facilities with the consultant, Arrow Street. That's very similar to what I do professionally, so I thought maybe that was somewhere I could offer some insight. I thought Arrow Street brought a good team to those walkthroughs. They had the right people there. I thought they were asking the right questions, and I thought they were looking at the right things in the buildings. Obviously, there's a lot more to come with their report, but I thought that was a very promising start up to this point. So that, I thought, was reassuring.

I'd also like to point out after walking around in those buildings with Matt Hafner and his facilities team, I have to say I think we're very lucky to have them. I think It was apparent how dedicated they are. We have some difficult buildings and I think they work very hard to keep them running and I think they do. more with less. So that was a credit to them and it's something that's not always so apparent when we come and go from these buildings quickly, but walking around more thoroughly with them, it really jumped out to me. This project is so important to the town. We have a lot of hard choices on the horizon, and we have to face them with facts and full context.

I'm pardoned to say that we have some good applicants who can step in and I'm sure bring even more skill to bear and if I can be of any further help either to the board or the facilities Master Plan Committee, or to assist any of you get up to speed, please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Eli. Thank you for your volunteerism. both on this committee and now in your new role. Thank you.

You?

Absolutely, if I could, Madam Chair. It's a loss for our working group, but it is really something great for you and it's really great for the planning board itself to have you become a member or associate member of the planning board. You've brought a lot to the table, and that was great. And I know that there would be more, and I know that you're not going away. Right, exactly. So I thank you for that. Appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate you coming here, too, as well. Sure.

Anyone else for public comments? Anyone online?

We have no one online.

No one online. Okay. We can move on to town manager's report.

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. So a few items for an update for you this evening. First, I want to start with an FY27 budget update. The Finance and Warrant Committee met on Monday evening. and Tuesday evening to review finance articles in particular. Articles three and four, which are the operating budgets and the capital budgets. We fielded some questions on those as well as a request from the Finance and Warrant Committee to project a 5.75% budget increase for the school while maintaining the recommended 4.5% budget increase for the municipal side of the budget. so we'll be bringing that information back to the Finance and Warrant Committee. They have a meeting scheduled for April 1st, April 8th, and then they plan to deliberate and vote on April 13th to make their recommendations to town meeting.

And I'll continue to share information as we go through that process, but we had two productive nights of meetings this week with the Finance and Warrant Committee. on a more sort of a different note, we've recently had the opportunity to set up a host meeting with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. It's called YSEALI. It's actually something that's run through the US State Department. The town of Norwood has hosted fellows from YSEALI for a number of years. they have three fellows this year who are going to be with them for a little over a month learning about municipal government and direct democracy in the United States. They are particularly interested in Sustainability, and Municipal Modernization. And so they're actually going to come over to Dedham the first week in April, tour the Public Safety Building,

look at the solar array that was recently installed on top of that building, as well as check out the solar projects that are happening at the schools so that they can learn some best practices, see different ways of implementing those technologies, and hopefully bring them back to Cambodia to more or less stay and Vietnam where they will be working in local government there as well. So that's an exciting project that Norwood is spearheading and they have again for a number of years. the Facilities Master Plan Committee met on Monday evening to discuss community engagement and communication strategies as we sort of move past the data collection phase of that project. I think it was a very good meeting. Unfortunately, I was at the Finance and Warrant Committee meeting, but I did watch the recording of it and was debriefed by Amanda Smith, our Director of Communications, who attended on behalf of our office.

Again, I think that was a productive conversation. Lots of good ideas were shared about ways of engaging with the Dedham community across multiple platforms and strategies to really get as much community engagement and community input into this really significant project as possible. So I think we've got a lot of good ideas. There'll be a project page launching soon. and we'll also be transitioning the school's Rennie Center educational model update project to a parallel page on the town website to make sure all that information is in the same location. again, exciting things happening with the facilities master plan as well as the educational model update. and then last but not least, I wanted to draw everyone's attention to a number of scholarships that are available throughout the town. The scholarship committee has an application on the town of Dedham website the deadline is May 1st for Dedham residents to apply.

You have to be is someone entering secondary education and a resident of Dedham to qualify for those and there's a short form to fill out and this scholarship committee will be making decisions on that. We also have commission on disability scholarships, $1,500 each. The deadline is May 22nd for those. One scholarship for Dedham residents graduating from another high school. and then one scholarship for Dedham residents of any age continuing education at college or trade school. And again, that'll be posted on our website as well. And then there are Summer Program grants through the Commission on Disability as well. And there will be two $1,000 grants for eligible residents ages 3 through 22. applicants must have certain documented physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. have demonstrated financial need and fill out the forms that are required for the Commission on Disability to make those awards.

So again, draw people's attention to those. It's a great opportunity to get some help with the increasing cost of education. and that concludes my report, but I'm happy to take questions.

Thank you. Questions from board members?

Michelle. Thank you. Related to the budget, you mentioned that Finance and Warrant Committee asked to see 5.7% for the schools. Can you remind us what it was in your proposed budget?

It was 6.33%.

and do you expect to have that for their next meeting? You said April 1, is that when you think?

Yeah, our director of finance, Brady Winton, has already shared. They essentially asked what it would look like as far as the impacts on the use of a levy capacity and what the number value would be of that. We've asked the schools for additional details about how that may impact their proposal. the 6.33 that was recommended in the town manager's budget was also what was recommended from the superintendent and the school committee. and that was what they were calling the level .5, which was above the 5.29% level service budget, but didn't quite get to the level one budget that they had initially were striving for.

You said Brady already has that information? Yes. Is that something you can get to us?

Yeah, I'll plan on including it with my update to you all tomorrow.

Thank you.

Madam Chair, just one thing. Leon, I don't mean to put you on the spot, but just because it comes to mind with the comments and open discussion, do we have a policy in place for hiring residents or how we handle that? Is that something we've looked at?

so that we don't have a policy in place for non-civil service positions. Of course, through civil service there are requirements that at the time you apply, you are a Dedham resident. outside of that. There were no town policies. Of course, we have people throughout the town who live in the town and work for the town. Our goal is always to hire the best qualified candidate for every job. And that's really what we strive for.

Sure. Easy for me to say with one and a half foot out the door, but it might be a good idea to look at a policy, because this is something I've heard from a lot of people, not just Susan, and obviously balancing the need to cast a wide net and get the best candidates against the benefits, frankly, of hiring local individuals. I guess I'm kind of a townie, but I do kind of like when town people serve in town jobs. I think there's a lot of good that comes from that. and I think it's something that's worth looking at and maybe implementing a policy rather than keeping it just like open-ended so just something to think of while it came to mind.

Yeah, I mean, if I may, through the chair, just addressing some of those comments, folks who get interviews do get a letter when the process is completed. And I'm 99% sure that folks who are not selected even for an interview also get communication. So I'm not sure where that fell through the cracks, but it's definitely something I'm gonna look into.

Yeah, maybe a policy or something. Look at a policy. But I won't be able to do it. You before, you have to do it.

Any other questions or comments on the town manager's report from board members? Just one note. the summer program grants. Last summer some of those grants came through at the end of the summer. families weren't able to choose the summer programs that they had applied for because they didn't get notice of the funding until the summer was halfway over. So if we could just make sure, double check that all of those awards go out in advance of summer camp starting.

The deadline on those is March 30th, so yeah, I'll definitely work to try to get those.

Thank you. Okay, consent agenda.

to approve the consent agenda including gifts $5,000 from the Friends of Library for purchases of DPL Library of Things, $500 from Friends of Library for purchase of prize token machine and all items related. $794 from Friends of the Library for subscription renewal for book page, $2,250 for DYC Holiday Program from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission, and $300 from John and Mary Hamilton and $100 from Tom and Ellen Clinton for DYC general use, both in memory of Christopher Mansfield. Requests from Friends of Town Green for use of Town Green on 5-2-26 from 2 to 5 p.m. to host a season opener with live music, ice cream, and lawn games. Rain date of 5-3-26, Block Party 6-20-26, Fox Meadow Lane. Sign request from MDACC for summer youth Arts Program.

Second.

Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those no. Okay, public hearing. We are removing the OCHE license transfer from tonight's agenda.

It was withdrawn, Madam Chair.

Eversource conduit installation.

Oh, maybe.

Christine Cosby is joining us via Zoom on behalf of Eversource. This is a request for conduit on Sandy Valley Road to accommodate new construction of a residential property.

Hello, you should be able to speak now.

May I ask why it's not a visual? Why is it not visual?

She dialed in on the phone.

It should be visual, right? Is there a way that you can come into the meeting any other way?

I know over here. Does the law still require visual? No. Okay. Thank you.

So those of us who are on the committees need to be...

Correct, if you're going to vote.

The camera needs to be on.

If you're going to vote, yes.

Okay, if we could begin the presentation.

Yes, this is Christine Carsey, and here to represent Eversource for the petition from Sandy Valley Road the installation of approximately 50 feet of conduit at pole 127 over 23 and also the installation of a hand pole and the purpose of this installation would be to provide service to the new house at 213 Sandy Valley Road.

Okay, thank you. Do we have any other contacts from the town on the request or any additional information?

No.

Okay. given that this is, do we have any questions from board members?

Madam Chair, just to confirm that the conduit is underground?

I'm sorry, I'm having a bad connection here.

You have a bad connection. Maybe we should take this. Can you hear us now?

I'm still having a little high time. Are you asking me a question on the conduit?

I am. You can definitely hear her. So is the conduit underground?

No, it's underground. It's all underground.

Okay, thank you.

Okay. Any other questions from board members? Okay, and this is a public hearing. Any public comments? Anyone online?

Madam Chair, move to close the public hearing.

Hearing motion and second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no.

Move to approve the request to have a source to install approximately 50 plus feet of conduit at pole number 127 over 23 and install a hand hole on Sandy Valley Road approximately 550 plus feet northwest of Cameron Pine Street.

hearing a motion and a second all those in favor say aye aye and with one voting present okay passes Next we have, thank you. Next we have candidate statements to fill the select board appointee to the facilities master plan steering committee. I just want to confirm we have four candidates present here and I'll allow up to two minutes for candidate statements. I can first hear from David Ward.

Hello, good evening. My name is David Ward. I live at 21 Mason Street in Dedham. And I'm also a member of the Sustainability Advisory Committee. and members of the board, I appreciate the time to talk about my application. for a seat on the Facility Match Plan Steering Committee. My day job is a consulting engineer. I worked in I've worked in the field for about 25 years. Most of my practice is focused on improving existing buildings. I've worked with many cities and towns across the Commonwealth and throughout New England.

mostly focused on energy conservation, improving the health and indoor air quality of buildings and having them operate more efficiently. One of the interesting projects that I had was working with the town of Dedham, the owner's agent for the town of Dedham, during the Siemens performance contract project 15 years ago or so. There was an issue with unit ventilators and various things, and I helped the owner's agent at that time. work through those issues and try and find a resolution. So I'm pretty familiar with the schools. That's who I am and what I do. If you have any questions.

Great. Thank you, David. Questions for board members?

Any questions for David? Sure. I have a few questions that I'm going to be asking. So this is a very important working group to me. being on the committee and so forth. So can you explain to me if you've ever had to work through disagreements within a group? How have you done that? Do you have any experience in that?

Yes, of course. Being in business for myself for 25 years, I get into conversations with people a lot of times that disagree with what my opinion is or what I feel about different things and I find it's always best to hear all sides and and try and figure out what the best approach or compromise is. Usually everybody has some right part to their argument and it's kind of good to draw out those right parts and craft is a solution that works for everybody.

Very good. Thank you. And did you say you had more than one question? No, I think that that's good. Thank you. Other questions from board members?

Thank you.

Thank you for your time. Thank you so much, David. Thanks for applying. Next, Tom Ryan.

Good evening. My name is Tom Ryan. I live at 15 Azalea Circle in Dedham. I currently serve on the Zoning Board of Appeal. prior to being on the Zoning Board. I served 15 years on the Dedham School Committee. I have the tire tracks and the scars on my back to prove it if you question it. While I was on the school committee, I did serve on the SBIC for about nine years during that time. We essentially completed the middle school, built the Avery, and started on the way toward the early childhood center. Those three schools that were built by the school committee basically while I was on it came to a grand total of less than $100 million. $100 million doesn't buy you an elementary school today.

no less when you look across the and a broad base of town infrastructure. So I'd be more than willing to lend my services and advocate for some tough decisions that we have to make going forward. there's always what we want and then there's what we can afford and trying to make those tough decisions I'd be more than happy to lend my service over the years to try to make some good decisions going forward for the town. Be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Questions from board members?

Yes. The Chair. I have a few different questions that I'm trying to get different perspectives from everybody on this committee. How would you make sure that all voices are heard and not just the loudest ones?

Well, it's basically the job of the committee to have outreach with the community. You have to have meetings across the town. you have to have interviews and meetings with all the stakeholders. You have to talk to the select board, planning board, school committee. Everyone has to be approached to have some input and honest dialogue. Sometimes it's very hard to get the community input, but I know when we were on the SBRC, We did a lot of basically holding meetings in the different schools in the district. I think sometimes you have to go to the community as opposed to basically anticipating that the community is going to come to you. I think if you do those things, obviously with the help of some social media, hopefully you get as broad a base of input as you possibly can.

and Tom, could you just remind me, do you have professional experience in buildings or maintenance or anything?

Well, I'm an attorney and I'm the first assistant register at the Suffolk Registry of Deeds, so I deal in real estate law. So I'm very familiar with land acquisition and basically financing. Thank you. Okay.

Any other questions from board members? All right, thanks so much for applying, Tom.

Whether you select me for this or not, I appreciate your service. It's tough times we're in basically right now, a crazy world on top of it, but I really appreciate all you do. Thanks.

Thank you, likewise. Okay, up next Matt Reedy.

I thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Matt Reidy. I live here in Dedham with my family, and I've got two young kids. I'm here because I care a lot about where the town is headed long term. I think the Facilities Master Plan is an important chance for us to step back and take a more coordinated, thoughtful, and data-driven look at our buildings. like a lot of people in town, I've seen the challenges with aging facilities and I think we have an opportunity here to bring more clarity and transparency to how we make decisions going forward. I also want to acknowledge my background coming into this. I co-founded Build Dedham's Future, a community group dedicated to supporting improvements to Dedham's public school facilities, and I was the runner-up for the school committee's appointment to this committee. I do think schools are a critical part of this. Eight of the buildings in scope are schools. They're some of the oldest buildings we have, and they get used by more people day in, day out than any other buildings in town. They're also shared community resources.

They're used by families, local groups, and residents of all ages. I've attended town meetings and even a select board meeting inside our schools. But schools are not the only public buildings and scope for this committee. And for this plan to go anywhere, it's going to need buy-in from many different perspectives. It must reflect how all of Dedham's buildings serve the full community, including their impact on our town budget and ultimately taxpayers. I'm committed to fostering all of those perspectives so that we create a shared understanding that moves Dedham forward together. In my day job, I work as a product manager, where I spend a lot of time working through complex decisions with people who don't always agree, figuring out how to weigh trade-offs, align around a path forward, and keep things moving. That's the mindset I bring here. being thoughtful about the long term but also practical about what it takes to get to a decision people can support. I'd really appreciate the opportunity to be part of this work and to help the town move forward in a way that feels balanced and grounded. Thank you.

Thank you Matt.

Questions from board members. Matt, let me ask you. How would you approach a situation if your personal views differed from what you're hearing from the community?

I think it's really important to be as data driven as possible as part of this process and data can come in many forms that can be numbers and quantitative data and Feedback from the community is another really important data point that has to be considered. It has to be incorporated in a non-biased way, and that's something that I'm committed to doing. I mentioned in my day job one of the things that I do all the time is I talk to customers and I hear their feedback about the products that I work on and often times they might say something that I find surprising or that I didn't expect or didn't agree with. But at the end of the day, for our town facilities, the community is really the customers. And it's what they say that matters.

And in order for the plan to be credible and to be usable, to garner community-wide support, it means that all perspectives are going to need to be very much valued, and so I'm committed to doing that.

Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. Thank you for finding. Brian.

Good evening select board members. It's nice to see you all again. My name is Brian Plummer. I'm a precinct two town meeting member and I've been proud to serve Dedham in several capacities over the past six years. I've been living in the town for the last six years with my wife, Catherine, and my four-year-old son, Freddie, and we're very much committed here to seeing this through till we're all 90 or 100 years old. In my day job, I'm the co-founder and chief development officer of my own social enterprise where we work on digital infrastructure for remote health facilities in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. About this position, I, like many others, believe that this committee's work is absolutely critical and very timely given the financial realities we face with critical infrastructure that needs new investment. residents deserve to and need to understand the state of our facilities and need to be, as we know, need to be part of the development of the plan. One that can ground us in the true conditions of the buildings, set us up to manage expectations,

one that we can budget and plan for and one that stands to benefit all of us here in Dedham both now and 90, 100 years from now. A little bit more about me. I've served on the Active Transportation Working Group for six years, collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders to bring projects and initiatives to life. I participated on the Transportation Safety Working Group throughout its entire run, working alongside consultants and across town departments to produce the local road safety plan. And I currently sit on the Riverdale School Committee and I serve as the precinct to chair where I've been spearheading the development of a precinct leadership manual. to strengthen our town meeting infrastructure that I also think is very important. I'm eager to bring the same collaborative, process-oriented approaches to the Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee. This work is super important. I'm really excited to contribute and I'd be honored to serve. Thank you so much.

Great. Thank you. Questions from board members? Brian. So, as you know, this Committee is an advisory committee to the school committee and to the select board. There will be a report coming to those two committees. So how do you see your responsibility without being the final decision maker?

I think it's important to know that we're working as a team, a lot of different perspectives, some trained experts, some community members. I think it's important for everyone to kind of say their piece. As Matt was saying, it's very important to hear what the community is saying, different forms of input. I think it's important to know, to make our contributions known, to put where we can, but also knowing that we are just one puzzle piece. put everything that we can as individuals into the process, but ultimately it's the team and the advisory committee that will make the final recommendations as a team at the end of it.

Thank you.

All good? Cool, thanks.

All right, and we will be voting at our April 7th meeting. So thank you for applying and for the wide range of involvement, volunteering, and committee service. among our applicants. Appreciate it.

So Madam Chair, there's a fifth candidate. Have we heard from the fifth candidate at all?

He notified me earlier that he was unable to attend the Albert and the opportunity to attend by Zoom. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, we have a discussion around acceptance of a grant for body-worn camera for the police department. Heath. Welcome.

Unusual not to see you in a uniform. Although I know it is baseball season for you, so.

Okay, so. Just want me to give you a little. So part of my understanding is a five-year budget process. The state was offering money for body-worn cameras. So back in, I believe it was the 22 to 24 collective bargaining agreements, Mr. Goodwin got language in the collective bargaining agreements that basically implementation as a management right, and then would go through the whole process with impact bargaining methods, practices, policies associated with implementing a body-worn camera program. So the last Excuse me, so this round is the final round that the state, at this point, had planned to put up with grant funding that came out last October 29th. On behalf of the police department, an application was submitted on November 14th.

We requested $249,728 to acquire body-worn cameras to be issued to all full-time officers, along with a couple of spares, accessories, batteries, mounting hardware, transfer stations, storage, and installation. So the collective bargaining units were notified that the grant application was submitted and some sample policies have been shared. The District Attorney's Office was notified that we were applying. District Attorney thought it was a good idea. On March 3rd of this year, we were notified that we were awarded $181,978. which is $67,750 less than we applied for. So we're currently working with a vendor to finalize a quote and find a way to make this work.

I've met with Human Resources, Finance, and IT related to this grant and how we may work together to implement it. So at this point, we've taken care of everything, outside of getting your approval and acceptance for the grant, and assuming that that happens. will then try to work with the collective bargaining units to come up with a policy that works for everybody, which shouldn't be hard. A lot of communities around us already have body-worn cameras. It's nothing new. It's not rebuilding the wheel. It's just finding what might be best for us and what may work. policy has to be completed and submitted to the state by June 30th of 26. Otherwise, we will lose the funding. So to get there, we're going to have to collaborate and cooperate to make this work.

Body-worn cameras are a good tool for the officers on the street. It should help to put everyone on possibly a little bit better behavior. Any complaints? You already have the evidence right there. So it would help the officers there. And it also helps with doing the job and investigating crimes that you you have evidence right there that was obtained. When the officers go and respond to calls where what gets reported later may change. But now we have evidence from that point in time. So it's a great tool for us to have, for people to do the job. The grant end date is August 31 of 26, so at that point in time we'd have to have everything acquired and implemented.

So it's a short window.

Thank you. Questions from board members?

Sure. First of all, I was happy to see this on the agenda in the grant, especially in 2026, the use of of body cameras by law enforcement is something that we're seeing constantly. Just as recent as today, a judge ruled in a case and said that if that department had cameras, we wouldn't be here today. And so it helps the offices, it helps the communities, and to me it's a win-win and I'm just glad to see that we're moving forward and of course we'll be discussing probably an executive session when we come to impact bargaining about the how and where we get to

where we need to be in order to implement this, but I think this is a great opportunity for Dedham to have these as a tool. a tool that utilized the appropriate way. And that's why, Chief, as you talk about policies, policies are so important, especially with the use of body cameras. when it's shown, when it's not shown, when it turns on, when it turns off. I had an interaction with a Amtrak officer in New York and he says, I'm putting my camera on. So there's policies and procedures that I think that you can work on. Others have done it. So 100% in favor and glad to see it. Thank you.

Other questions from board members? Michelle?

Yeah, similarly, I just really commend the decision to apply for the grant and to move forward with this for the same reasons that Jim said, both protecting our officers and the public and just building more transparency and trust. on both sides there. My questions were, and I guess we didn't get what we asked for anyway, but I was curious if, it covered just the cameras or other associated costs. I think, and you mentioned some of this, but quickly, like training and the data storage or even if we had gotten it all, are there additional costs? going forward without grants. I don't know what the useful life of these things are, upgrades in technology. I'm just curious. I don't know if this question's for you or Leon, but of ongoing budget implications, not just this year, but ongoing with a program like this.

So what we originally quoted includes a refresh, if I remember correctly, three years down the line. And it's basically a five-year package. And after five years, there would be a... for an additional financial need.

Okay. Thanks. A couple things, Madam Chair. Thank you. First of all, amazing job getting the money for this. It's great to see that. this community comes together and continues to find ways to fund our police and to put our police in the best position possible to do their job. given the tremendous challenges our officers on the front lines face in literally every second of their job and everything they do. So thank you for the leadership you've shown. My question is, and I think this has kind of already been answered, a couple questions. Number one is, this would be the first time that Dedham police officers have worn body cameras, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

Okay. And is it a fair statement? I mean, is it a general feeling in an industry that, like, wearing body cameras protects both the police and the public? I mean, is that sort of how most departments that have implemented this already looks at it? Yes, that's my understanding, absolutely, yes. Okay, great. and then is there any sense of the union, Dedham, and maybe this is the wrong time and place to ask, I don't know, but any sense of how they would look upon this or something's gonna have to be negotiated at the bargaining table, all the details of this, is that correct?

just impact bargaining the policies, means, and methods is what we need to do. So as I mentioned, We're not building the wheel. Others around us have done this already. So we have some example policies, so I think we should be able to working out based on those.

Honestly, I'm not an expert in policing, but it sounds like a terrific idea to me just for so many reasons and everything you just illustrated about having things on camera it clarifies a lot and I think it protects, it seems to me like it would protect the citizens and the police officers in a time that is just a completely crazy, difficult time to be a police officer. So I'm so thrilled about this and thank you for your leadership on that. Nothing further, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions? I do. So thank you for bringing this forward. Just as kind of a side note as well, I agree with everything that my colleagues have said, and this is really an important grant. I think years ago when this started, I think things have kind of flipped a little bit. Before, it seemed like the police didn't want it, and now they're saying that, yes, we want it, transparency. I think everybody's on the same page with that, which is, in my opinion, where we need to be. The transparency, and it's helpful in making decisions and seeing what's happening. So I think both sides of the table have come together on that aspect, that they're a good thing. Policy, as you know, are you going to be using them? Those things are all going to be handled. And also, I'm assuming, data storage and how are public requests going to be handled? handled and all those things have to become policy as well. So there's quite a bit of work that has to be done on those kinds of things and bringing that forward.

So that's really all that I wanted to say that I think this is a great grant. I agree with my colleagues. There is that question about how this gets put into the operating budget going forward. So there wouldn't be any sort of request that we know of. I know you don't know the future completely, for four years or so?

Yes, seven years out before there would be any other, outside of any shortfall from what we were awarded right now.

Right, okay. All right, well, thank you.

Thank you, Chief D'Entremont. Just two more quick questions. One, does this grant cover training for the officers to learn how to use it and to learn about the policies that are enacted?

Yeah, so the original application and what was requested would have the whole training on the units and installation and implementation is necessary from the beginning. Yes.

and how does privacy work from the resident perspective? Would specific... segments of footage be subject to FOIA requests? What does privacy look like for the individual?

Well, I mean, there'll be, you know, policy will cover some places where you just don't turn them on. And then there'll be some places where there'll be some discretion when you turn them on with regards to privacy. And any records request will be like anything else. It'll be, you know, with the exception to public records law that you redact pieces of it.

Okay, all right, so there is similarly protection through redaction, even though it's film. Okay, thanks. And so my follow-up to that is just, is there a plan for communicating and offering a training to the community so that they can become comfortable with this addition as well?

We can do that. Okay. That wouldn't be any problem.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks for coming in this evening.

No problem.

Madam Chair, I move to accept a grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in the amount of $181,978 for the purpose of purchasing body worn cameras for the Dedham Police Department.

Second.

Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no.

Thanks, Chief. Thank you so much. Thank you. Have a good night.

Good night. Okay, we have El Centro License Transfer.

Sure.

If you could just state your names for the record as well.

Sure. For the record, I'm Peter Zacher. I'm an attorney with offices in Dedham. Sitting next to me is Alina Miskira, who is the owner and proposed manager of record of

Exactly how I was going to say it.

I should note for the record also, her husband Fassim is in the audience. Just at the very beginning, for the record, As required by law, notice of this hearing was published in the Dedham Times on January 30th. Also as required, notice was sent to abutters by certified mail. I've submitted an affidavit of notice to Nancy this evening for the record. So we come here this evening relative to the subject premises, which is about 3,300 square feet on the first floor of 338 Washington Street. That location has a very long history of restaurants and restaurants with all alcoholic beverage licenses, including, as many of you may remember, Kukuyama, and if those of you who are as old as me, Rossi's, back in that day. Since 2017, El Centro has operated at this location.

and I always say, I guess maybe it's because of the business I'm in, I find it sad when a restaurant closes or needs to move on, but I also think it's very exciting when you have the opportunity to bring something which is really, I think, new and different in this area. And we have that opportunity tonight. The applicant's proposing to open an authentic Albanian Mediterranean restaurant. Now, I've passed out menus to you as opposed to me trying to read it and describe it. But if you go through the menu, it's quite extensive. In fact, I think if I had another week, I would have got another updated menu. This menu has been repeatedly updated. But underneath each name there is, you know, if you will, a nice simple version of what it is. And you'll see a lunch menu, a dinner menu, there's a catering menu there, there's even breakfast menu. Brunch. Excuse me. I keep calling. Yes.

So just to make it clear, my clients are not proposing to alter the premises. They will be making significant what I call cosmetic upgrades. and improvements, but essentially in terms of the way it's laid out, in terms of any type of construction activity will not be required. The proposed restaurant will have the same number of seats now, which I believe is 100 seats inclusive of 18 seasonal or outdoor seatings. And in the package that we submitted, , basically there was a similar seeding plant. So what is proposed, they say, is a great family-style restaurant. We're anticipating it will be great food. They're proposing, with some latitude, to be open between 10 and 10 a.m., 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 10 to maybe 11 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

You know, it's new to this area in terms of food. Hopefully as they grow, you may see their hours, they may not start with these hours, but hopefully as the business develops, I'm told that they're anticipating a very large brunch crowd. Right?

Yes, because it's a tradition.

Apparently. Anyway, Elena is the proposed manager of Reckitt. She has over 25 years experience in catering and hospitality. areas. During that period, she served food and alcoholic beverages, and very interesting how she in terms of the background, in terms of alcohol. But most of training over that 25-year period, they've done countless specialty events, which I think would be probably even a little more difficult to control, if you will, than your established restaurant. But they've had these events, and they have some very steady clientele over that period, including the Archdiocese of Boston and the National Fire Protection Association. throughout that time there have been zero complaints of violation. I have provided her with your rules and regulations. She promised me that she read them and understands them. She is TIP certified. I've submitted that package to you. She anticipates being at the restaurant at least 50 hours.

Her husband told me it would be more like 75, but she says she'll be there at least 50 hours per week. I did sit down there for a while and talked about adopting a responsible service alcohol policy and the immediately jumped on that and agreed and thought it was a very important aspect in your package. That may evolve a little more before they open, but basically you have the outline there. That's going to be part of the employment hiring. Any employee who is hired is required to read that, understand it, they'll go over it with them, and sign it so that we have that. They will be bringing in an ID scanning machine. Currently, as we started looking into them, it's really at a period right now where there's so many improvements being made on those. I know some of the other restaurants have now gone to an app that actually is on your phone but we may go with more of a standalone machine which we think may have a little more accuracy but they will be bringing one of those in. prior to opening.

And as they say, I'm not going to go through it, but you have the policy in front of you in terms of what they're going to be requiring to go on in the restaurant. And the bottom line is everybody, even somebody as old as myself, she claims, I'm going to get ID'd when I come in. Which is the best policy to have. You can never get in trouble by over it. Asking too many people for identification. They understand that what they're going forward with is a privilege and they know that and they want to treat it as something that is very important not only to their business but to the community. You should also note that I've also requested, and I know this is included in all of your alcoholic beverage licenses, but the common vitriol license, and we also put an application in for jukebox live music DJs and I just wanna, I put that in, but I wanna be clear, they're not, at least,

at the beginning anticipating having this on a regular basis, but they want to have the opportunity to do it should they have a special event or something of that nature.

But nothing like we would like to be more family. for addition restaurant because we are family and we have been in restaurant business over 30 years in Braintree and we have had just Morris family gathering. The food is very unique. and it's in Albanian tradition, sorry.

I understand and my client does that in reviewing the application and look at a number of matters including whether issuing this license serves the public good. We submit it does. I mean the location as they say already has been historically a location where an all-alcoholic beverage license has been located. In addition to that, I think it's important that, you know, this isn't... Dedham Square, and the importance of not having a pretty visible corner spot vacant and this will be a smooth transition. We don't anticipate much downtime between Winnell Central moves on and when the new restaurant opens. Having said that, we'll gladly respond to any questions the board may have.

Great, thank you. Questions from board members?

Just two. First, council, does the lease include any parking spots within the building? Because I noticed prior to the restaurant that's next door to it, had parking in the first floor. So is there any parking associated with the lease of the property?

Yeah, the building actually has more parking than people anticipate. what the customers are going to have to learn is that the parking is under the building. So yes, we do not assign spaces, but When we went through the planning board process of having this building go up, we proved to them that we met the zoning requirements for the number of parking spaces, but and maybe a couple in the back. But basically, we have to get the new customers to learn that they need to go under the building to apply.

Thank you. and so looking at what you submit in regards to your alcohol service and your hospitality experience, which is extensive, it sounds like you were in the catering business. Yes. And you have corporate event locations I can't pronounce the name of your corporation, Alaina's. Is that, are you still maintaining that catering entity?

Yes.

And who runs the catering entity?

We have managers.

So the within your catering license, do you have an alcohol service license within your catering license?

No, we only get one day license. Only when we have special events.

So do you... Give me an example of how you would, who would apply, who is gonna be the manager, who is the typical manager of record at your catering events? Because you have quite a few.

It's me and my husband, it's both of us.

So if you go and have an event, Are you going to be the manager of record at the event?

No, we have other managers. We have about six managers because before the COVID, we had 15 locations. Now we have nine locations. Okay.

What I'm getting at is that you're going to be the manager of record at this restaurant. What is your primary responsibility going to be? The restaurant or the catering business? The restaurant. The restaurant. Yes. Because you're on the license for the restaurants.

That's correct.

And you still intend to apply for you as a licensee for any of the other catering events that will

Yes, because that's not something that is every day. You know, it happens once a month, once in two months, you know.

May I? Go ahead.

No, no, no. I have the managers that do that.

Mr. Chairman, just so I... So if the question... Chair's over there. I'm sorry. I interpret the question as, would she be applying in her name for the one-day licenses?

Yeah, no.

Okay. Thank you. And where do you prepare the food for your catering business?

We have, for the school that we're going to open here in Dedham, is that the question?

For the catering. For your catering business, where do you prepare your food?

We have, every location has a very large kitchen.

Okay, so you go in wherever your location is, you prepare your food.

On what building we have to, we have about four places that we do. Catering, that they have large kitchen, walk-in refrigerators, and walk-in freezers.

So is this your first brick-and-mortar restaurant? Okay, thank you.

Other questions from board members?

Just want to take a quick second and say I'm really excited for this restaurant. It looks like it's going to be awesome, and I won't be on the board anymore in a couple weeks, but in my opinion, If they want to play music, we should let them play music. If you want to play Albanian music, play it. If you want to play Lebanese music, I'll help you with that. but I want I honestly I think it's a great thing I think it'll be a huge asset to the square and Peter you said it I mean we got to keep these restaurants alive and open and full of life and full of people right that's what the square is supposed to be all about it sucks that El Centro went out of business it sucks when there's an empty storefront so it's awesome when people get into these places and invest in them and pick up these places so I'll be there and I wish you the best of luck. I'm super excited.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Good luck.

So just through the chair, just a comment, because I was wondering if you were going to be playing ethnic music or when you were saying the DJing, because you can also have Greek music too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I love it. Well, most of the Albanian music, they are translated to, most of the Greek music is translated to Albanian, so they both play the same song, but different, you know, like their language.

A lot of the places have... Lebanese and Albanian night together.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, they do, yeah. You could do that. It's a similar, yes. You should do that. That's what we want to do. We want to bring like a little bit of music of, you know, like everybody and make comfortable everybody, you know, so not just, you know, Strait Albanian. It's just going to be very unique and I'm very excited.

Great. And this is a public hearing. Is there anyone here from the public to speak on this? issue, this agenda item. None. OK. Well, I'll entertain a motion.

Move to close the public hearing.

Second. Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no.

I think I'll let Dennis make the motion.

Go ahead. Move to approve the appointment of Alaina Mishari. Oh, we got to do the transfer first. Sorry. Move to approve the transfer of the all-alcoholic restaurant license from Raleigh Corporation, El Centro, to Shakdora, Birak, Washington Street.

Second.

Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no.

I'll move to approve the appointment of Elena Mishari as manager of record for Shadora-Berak, 338 Washington Street.

Second. Hearing motion to second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Both no. One more.

Oh. Oh, geez. Oh. Which one's that?

The music.

Oh, move to approve the issuance of an entertainment music license for Sheikh Dilraba Barak, Washington Street, 338 Washington Street.

Second. Hearing a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. All right. Welcome to the square. Best of luck. Thank you.

When do you open?

As soon as we get the license.

The arrangement is that, as you know, from here it goes to the ABCC. Once the ABCC approves it, we'll be closing within seven days of that approval. Okay. Well, good luck. Thank you. Thank you.

Good luck. A long time. We hope you're there for it.

Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you very much, guys. Thank you. Best of luck. Fantastic. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome. Glad to have you in town. Okay, so we're also, the King's Bowl Dedham has also been removed from the, no, that's not, okay. Okay, King's Bowl Dedham.

Madam Chair, just to clarify, the alteration of the license premises application has been withdrawn and they're in front of us this evening for a change of manager and changes to the gaming, bowling, and table games at the location. Okay, thank you for clarifying that.

Good evening for the Reckitt-Petersacker. I'm an attorney with offices in Dedham. Here on behalf of King's Bowl of Dedham, LLC, sitting next to me is David Del Rossi, who is the proposed manager of Reckitt. and again, just for the record, as required, notice was published of this hearing on January 30th Notice was sent to abutters by certified mail, and I've presented Nancy tonight with an affidavit of notice. As most of you know, King's is about 25,000 square foot. Full Service Restaurant and Entertainment Venue with bowling and a variety of other games at Legacy Place. As indicated when we originally submitted, it appeared there would be an alteration of the premises, but as Nancy indicated earlier, is not the case. So there's no alteration of premises, but I will tell you there will be new flooring and a complete rearrangement of the facility and substitution.

Basically, Kings has come here. is doing that part of it to keep themselves very relevant, keep their doors open and full with customers. So really what we have for tonight is the application for the change of manager to David Del Rossi. He's been in the restaurant and alcohol service business since at least 2018. He's been the general manager at most of those places. They have different names, but they all sound like general managers. and he's been with King since January of 2025. Again, I provided him with your rules and regulations. He promised me he read them and understood them. Unfortunately, I thought I had made enough copies, not that it was, but David has a number of certifications. He has a TIP certification, crowd management certification,

New one to me, there's a bowling safety certification. There's incident response, serve save, choke safety, and food safety, and there may be a few more that he holds. So that is, we believe he's very well qualified to be the manager of record for Kings going forward. In addition to that, as I indicated and I submitted in the package, I assume most of you have been in King's. You all look like bowlers. But no, they have been in there. And King's is an entertainment venue. I mean, that's what brings people in. When you're there, they have pretty good food. So there are quite a number of seats. In fact, Nancy and I... went over this earlier today to make sure that everything is correct. But currently within the entire venue, and I'm gonna do this quickly, but currently within the entire venue,

I'm going to use the word amusements, bowling, billiards, electronic games. Currently, there's a total of 54. They're really only adding one. They're substituting, et cetera. But we're going to 55. And what I've given you, and they're basically adding a ping pong table. and I think we're removing the mini bowling lanes. By the way, I apologize, I should have indicated, also with us this evening, is John Tossey, if you have any questions. He's the VP of, sitting behind me, he's the VP of operations for Kings. So I wanted to try to make it clear. I hope I didn't confuse everybody. But what I did was I gave you the amusements every way I could think of. So the first one shows you what's existing versus what's proposed so that you can see what the change would be.

Then when they redo the venue, there's basically Five locations. One used to be the main dining room when you first walked in. That's going to be a new gaming lounge. So I broke it down by the games or amusements that would be in each one of the areas. and then last but not least, because I would just refer to them as electronic games, I gave a full listing of all those electronic games. We're pretty excited. I mean, King's has always tried to keep pace with what was required to make them. a very relevant place for people to go to not only within Dedham but Legacy Place and hopefully these changes will continue that and they can be here for many, many years in the future. Having said that, we'll respond to any questions you may have.

Great. Thank you. Questions from board members?

So just a comment. I have no questions on the management or anything else dealing with Kings. They are a top notch. entity and organization that's well-respected throughout the area. Patrick Lyons runs a very tight ship, and in fact, I saw him a few months ago at an event, and he reminded me that, and I believe Attorney Zarco was part of this, that they were the first pool tables that the town of Dedham voted. So prior to kings having pool tables, nobody was allowed to have a pool table in an establishment due to an incident at a place in East Dedham. And so... took the chance. He knew what he was doing. So I just figured I'd share that. I just laughed at it when he told me that. I said, well, you have six pool tables. But anyways.

It's a well-run establishment and hugely successful because of the operation, the back of the house. Thank you.

Thank you, Jim. Other questions, comments from board members?

Thank you, Madam Chair. What a terrific place Kings is. I was kind of thinking about this the other day. What a terrific run. Dedham, I mean, 15 years, 16 years or something like that right now. Unbelievable. And just like... Legacy Place has been such a resounding success and it's really helped this town out in a lot of ways and King's is like One of the crown jewels, really, of what was such a successful project. So while you're here, let me just say thank you for being in Dedham. Thank you for staying in Dedham. I'm happy to support this, to do anything we can do to keep you thriving and successful in this community and I hope you guys are here for another 20 years and beyond. Thank you. Good luck.

Other questions, comments from board members? Hearing none.

Move to close the public hearing.

Second. Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no.

Votes to approve the appointment of David J. Del Rossi as manager of record for Kings Bowl, Dedham, LLC, DBA, Kings Bowl, 600 Legacy Place.

Second. Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, no.

Vote to approve the issuance of the following gaming license, six pool tables, one ping pong table, 20 bowling lanes, and 28 electronic games. Second.

Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed, no. All right, great. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you, everybody. Congrats.

Thank you. I do love ping pong. I have a table up in my living room a few months every year to make my kids play with me. to try out the new table. All right. . Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Board.

So I'm going to do my best to represent the work of the subcommittee from the school committee and the folks, the Reilly Center who are working on this. This is a project that's running in parallel to the facilities master plan and it's very important from the school operations standpoint. because the educational model really does need to envision and match what the buildings will be in the future in order to make the most of the facilities master plan. So with that in mind, we are running these projects in parallel. Most recently, the educational model team met at a school committee meeting on March 18th at the Public Safety Building. and representatives from the Reilly Center for Education and Research and Policy shared an overview of the project at that meeting. They outlined the purpose, the goals, next steps, but they also brought a lot of presentation materials with them and engage the community in going over that.

And the first phase of this project, as well as the Facilities Master Plan project, really is that data gathering. And they presented that data in what they're calling a data walk. and that presentation is available on the website and it was also available in the packet that we gave to you all. But I think that was really enlightening when I went through that data to show the trends that we're seeing in the schools and I think it helps answer a lot of the questions that the community has about certain driving factors behind budget decisions and things of that nature. So again, I think this is good work that's happening at the school, and I applaud them. So that is the first phase is the data and document review. The second phase is going to be focused on community engagement. There are a number of listening sessions and focus groups scheduled coming up. April 1st, there will be a focus group meeting with all PTO leaders.

On April 8th, there will be an open listening session at the Setback Resource Fair, 6.30 to 8, at Dedham Middle School. April 14th, there will be an open listening session at Mother Brook from 5.30 to 6.30. and this is all again on the website. And on April 27th, there'll be another listening session at Dedham Middle School from 5.30 to six. there'll also be a community survey, an open community survey that will be accessible to all in the community to gather feedback on priorities for the Dedham Public Schools. and that will be conducted in mid-April. and then it's expected that this will all wrap up at the end of May, June timeframe and which really aligns well with the Facilities Master Plan project as well so that this can feed into that as, as the various groups, the Rennie Center,

and Arrow Street work together to collaborate and bring all this data together in an end product that we're hoping that the community will support and buy into.

Thank you. Questions from board members?

Michelle. I'm just curious about the process for the meshing. And I don't know, Dimitria, if you're better to answer this. But while they're running in tandem, Is there another process when they're both done that's going to need to be done to figure out kind of how they work together and feed into each other or that really is happening all along in the process as we go?

So it's happening all along. I do know that the representatives from Arrow Street were at the March 18th meeting and observed all of that. They've also had various engagements already between the two teams and they plan to continue engaging throughout the process and checking in with each other to make sure that first of all, they're not duplicating efforts and causing confusion because I think that's really we're trying to avoid that. We don't want folks to be like, oh, I already filled out the survey. and have in fact not. So there is a lot of alignment happening with respect to that. There will probably have to be a significant download of information back and forth at some point because Again, they are completely different projects, but they go so hand in hand that it will be important for them to sit down and make sure that they're sharing all that information back and forth.

Both of these firms have done similar projects before and they've expressed some confidence that they can work together and not duplicate efforts and make sure that they are bringing everything into one place for us to use as a community. I'm happy to turn it over to Dimitria, though, if she has anything to add.

No, I was going to say the same thing. They do have to work very well together, but they're not working together. But they need to make sure they're not duplicating efforts, and it is it is really being set up well or was set up well to have that educational model going on and having this go on as well too so that we can study the buildings.

We just don't want to be in a situation where what they think is best for educational model doesn't work with what is being recommended for buildings or other way around. So we're paying attention to that.

And just based on the presentation, I would add that the ed model review intends to present a draft report to the school committee over the summer. with the school committee. Right.

So you'll be able to take that into consideration when you're thinking about it.

Correct.

Okay, great.

Thank you. Can I, through the chair, can I just ask a question on this? And you may not have the answer to this. So the community service survey is for everyone. It's not just when there's speaking of this and not just speaking of the school committee.

It's for everyone. It's the entire community.

All right. And then the listening sessions, and I can mention this to them as well, too, because just looking at the times, they're pretty early. 5.30?

There's one that's 630 to 8, but yeah.

And so that's special education, I believe. I don't know if that is, so that's a CPAC resource fair there, so I don't know if that opening listening session just happens to be at that event that's open to the public or not.

That's my understanding, but I can double check that and make sure that it is open to all. especially because that is a better time for some folks to get there.

That was the only because I did see it was CPAC and I said so are they going to get others to come in that or will there be some confusion that it would be open to others as well too so that would be great if you

And then there is a little note here that says additional dates and online forms will continue to be offered. So I think that this is just the base. And then they're going to add more at some point as well.

Great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Yes. And I'll just add, I was able to attend the data walk with the team. is very impressive. They are on the ball. They are pulling the latest data and research into the work that they're doing with Dedham, and I appreciate that. and it was standing room only at the public safety community room. So that was encouraging and hope that members of the community and other members of the community continue to participate in these listening sessions as well because it was very helpful to go and understand that. And I appreciate that Arrow Street was there as well.

Just looking at the slides that are in the attachment, Leon, that was included, some excellent data. I noticed that one of them is is on the school website. Where can people find all of this data? Because I'm looking, is there a landing spot on the, on the public schools webpage for all this data? How are we centralizing?

So, go ahead. Sure, so currently it resides on the Dedham Public School website. The plan is we are going to be launching a project page for both the facility master plan and this project on the Towns Be Heard portal, which is a project portal that we've used for other things including the deficit reduction strategy. and the information will be the same between what's on the school and what's on the town as soon as that's launched and that's going to be in the coming days. Thank you.

Yeah, I do see it on the school side. Okay. Yeah, it's very well done.

Any other comments or questions? Okay. That's good. Great. Thank you for the update. Thank you. All right, we're at the end of our agenda. Does anyone have any old or new business? All right, I'll just, oh.

All right, let's figure something else. Just one. I was talking to a Dedham resident called me the other day and asked, are we gonna be putting up a 250 flag? So there are commonly flags, the 250th anniversary, of course, and I know there's a lot of different types of flags, but... Can we get a 250 flag? There's one that has the 250 circles where the stars are. I don't know what the protocol is, but of course it would have to fly underneath the American flag. But can we look into, can we do it? Can we get one? I think they're like $100. But I think $250 is a big deal.

Yeah, I'm sure we can figure out how to do it with the protocol and we can get that done. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Jen.

Thank Common. He's called me and says, when are we going to put one up? I said, I don't know anything about it. So I said, I'll bring it up.

May I ask, is that a flag or a banner for...

It's a flag. It's a flag that would fly on the flagpole underneath the American flag.

And we could also look into possibly a banner on Town Hall. I know we've had banners there before or in the square. 250. 250.

We've got the secondary flagpole out front, too, that maybe that one is lower, so I don't know about... Well, I think the secondary flagpole is for, you know, I know we'll get, like, for Pride and for others. This year, I think, celebrating our Country could be underneath the American flag, which is underneath the POW flag.

But it would be good to get to find out about a banner for either there or in the square and, you know, if we need a donation or anything like that as well, too.

Good deal. Yeah, those are good ideas. Thank you. Great, thank you.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Dennis.

Thank you, Madam Chair. A couple quick things. First and foremost, today is what, March 26th? Mm-hmm. 26, so April is Arab American History Heritage Month, so I just want to acknowledge that. It is a crazy, crazy time in the Arab world right now. Lebanon, as usual, finds itself in the crosshairs. unfortunately of a horrible conflict and about 15% of the population of Lebanon has been displaced from their homes. and the last few weeks. So just we have a huge amount of people in this community that take heritage in Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East. And I just want to acknowledge that because It is a terrible, terrible thing what's happening in Lebanon. There will never be peace in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah exists. That's the reality of the situation and it's very sad what's happening again in Lebanon, so I want to say that. with Arab Heritage Month coming up.

I, closer to home, put up two articles for town meeting coming up in the coming weeks. I'm going to go present them to the By-law Review Committee in the Finance and Warrant Committee, the first of those articles is to ask for the school budget to be presented, a by-law to be presented, similar to how the town presents its budget, line item by line item to the Finance Committee. obviously there's a state law in place that protects the school's autonomy to ultimately do what they wish and with their own budget but I think it's really important that we use the finance committee for what it's intended to be, which is the overseer of our tax dollars. And there's just too much discourse lack of coordination between the schools and the towns and almost to the point where it's become a competitive thing. And too many things are getting like duked out at town meeting floor.

and the reality is like the finance and warrant process, it works, it's transparent, it's open, it's thorough and it does a ton of good. I've sat up here for 12 years and I've seen how much good for the town and how much it's helped the town. and I really feel like it would help the school side and ultimately bring it all together on both sides. And I will say that some people have told me that they think the article is a great idea. and they support it and others have told me that they think it's a terrible idea. And what I would say to that, is that the fact that there are people that think it's a bad idea is exactly why we need it. Because nobody likes to have to go through that process of oversight. Nobody necessarily wants... accountability like that, transparency. And I know they are transparent in and of themselves in what they do, but I really feel like this is something that we need to do.

Over half of our dollars, tax dollars are going to our schools. And the Finance Committee doesn't really get a huge say right now like they do over the town side, line item by line item about those dollars. So I hope it's something people will consider. And if it doesn't pass, I hope people will at least start a conversation. how we can better bring these sides together and have better coordination. And then my second article is asking this board, which I will no longer be on, in a few weeks to consider making a working group. And really, the goal of that working group should be to prioritize looking at how we plan to integrate development of the so-called 95 corridor into the town's financial picture. We are going to have an opportunity as those sites develop, and many of them can be developed by right now. and others to potentially

you know really solve some of our financial or help some of our financial issues and a couple people have said that well it's too early it's too early there's nothing proposed and I get that but there's a lot of things we need to be thinking about because the reality is Town Meeting has voted to support development on those sites two times now and both votes were resounding. We have a major issue with school buildings. We have no, you guys are working so hard. I give you and Dimitria, Aaron and Dimitria so much credit because I feel like the coordination and the communication between the two boards, the school committee and the select board, has never been better. And it's really because of the two of you. But we have a major issue with how are we going to pay? for schools. I think it's the biggest problem we face as a community and we will have the opportunity to use development in that area if it happens to potentially address some of that. We just had a debt exclusion rejected a few months ago. I mean, we need to come up with ways to solve this problem. And this is definitely jumping off the pages, one of them.

But there are a lot of questions. There are a lot of legal questions. What's the right percentage? What's the right number? Is it even a good idea? and those questions go beyond any one person. So I think this is an opportunity to really be ahead of the curve and show leadership and again, if it doesn't pass, I hope it at least starts a conversation and more than anything, I really hope just moving forward for years whenever something, if ever something is developed up on those parcels that the absolute priority of this town is to use what of that money they can to try and solve our school building problem. Whatever the decision that comes from the process, because we have an obligation to build schools and we have done a great job of it, but obviously to this point, we're facing challenges and that really needs to be something that should be at the top of our list how we solve that problem. And then the last very quick thing I wanted to bring up is I currently serve on the Transfer Station Working Group and I'm not sure how that position is written but I just want to say publicly that

if you all want me to continue to serve on that working group after I leave the board if that's possible I would be happy to do so but I don't know if that's possible so just something I'm throwing out there thank you everyone thank you madam chair thank you any more old or new business

I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second. Hearing a motion and a second, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, no.

All right, good evening, everyone.