The Raynham Channel
Welcome to Raynham Community Access & Media (RAYCAM), where we engage, learn, and create community access media. We are dedicated to providing a platform for all voices to be heard and shared. Join us in creating a vibrant and inclusive media community.
The Raynham Channel
Raynham Board of Selectmen 11/04/2025
(Episode Description is AI generated and may be errors in accuracy)
A routine agenda turns into a masterclass in local decision-making as we navigate the tightrope between public safety urgency and fiscal restraint. We start with the real world: a fast, coordinated response to a structure fire, rising 911 demand, and community programs that build trust. From there, we move into the choices that define a town’s future—who steps up when the administrator is out, which contracts keep services stable, and how a single house lease can reflect a broader push for financial discipline.
The central debate is the public safety building. After wetlands killed the original King Philip Street plan, we pivot back to Orchard Street with modified designs and fewer outbuildings to manage cost and fit. Some residents argue for splitting police and fire to match operations and reduce neighborhood impact; others make a clear case for urgency, citing the unsafe, outdated conditions first responders face now. We lay out the numbers with transparency: roughly $6.8 million in certified free cash, about $6.5 million earmarked across capital and transfers, including a $4.4 million boost to the public safety fund to reduce future borrowing risk. Supplemental road funding tackles state shortfalls, a fire engine refurbishment extends service life, and school capital prevents a new gym floor from being damaged by old bleachers.
There’s more strategic groundwork: a $3.5 million MassWorks grant for the Route 138 water main, alignment with utility and drainage timelines, and a long-view approach to avoid tearing up newly paved roads. Sewer retained earnings prepare for regional plant costs while stabilizing rates, and ambulance receipts fund operations and critical gear like a Lucas device and a cardiac monitor. We also preview a procedural puzzle at town meeting: two competing zoning bylaw changes for the planning board’s associate member, one to elect the role and one to repeal it entirely, and how we’ll handle the legal sequencing to keep the outcome clean.
If you care about how a community invests in safety, infrastructure, and trust—while staying honest about tradeoffs—this conversation delivers the details and the stakes. Subscribe, share with a neighbor who votes, and leave a review telling us whether you favor a combined facility or separate stations for police and fire.
https://www.raynhaminfo.com/
Copyright RAYCAM INC. 2025
The meeting is open to the public. It is also being broadcast live through the Rainham channel on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 34. It is also being recorded by Rainham for replay on the Rainham channel. Please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Our first agenda item is the acceptance of the minutes, the regular session of October 28, 2024, and the executive session of October 28, 2024. Do we have a motion to accept the minutes as printed? Oh, just for 2025. You did.
SPEAKER_10:With that added, I will accept both.
SPEAKER_05:Do we have any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, any opposed, so voted. Under Department Head Reports, we have recognition Chief. Welcome, Chief. Good evening.
SPEAKER_00:So for the month of October, we had uh 2,630 calls. Uh 447 of those were emergency 911 calls. And of those, 91 were emergency medical dispatch calls. So we had 17 arrests and several criminal summons. Um there was one significant event. It was a uh structure fire last week on Broadway. I want to thank the officers who responded and assisted the fire department, especially uh patrolman Dan Fitch. He responded from a uh detail that was in the area. He got there first and he was able to make sure everybody was out of the house, and then he was able to tell the fire department where the fire was um before they got there. Um and I want to just say the fire department did a tremendous job because I'm I'm shocked that the house didn't totally burn down. They did a great job. Um so for community service on October 1st, uh members of the police department hosted Coffee with a Cop. The event was at the Senior Center, it's our third one that we did. Uh third year in a row, and I want to thank all the officers who participated. On October 4th, uh Patrolman John Fillmore participated in Bridgewater Rainham Education Foundation, Touch a Truck in Bridgewater. Uh I want to thank him for his participation. On October 23rd, uh SI ro Jennifer Lane, Patrol, and Carrie Mello, and um have their career participated in the uh park and recover annual trunk retreat. I want to thank them for their efforts. Um and last, the Rainham Police Department participated uh again this year in the National Pink Patch Project initiative during the month of October. Um the Pink Patch Project is a national collaborative public awareness campaign to increase education about the importance of early detection and prevention of a fight against breast cancer while supporting cancer research to combat the disease. I want to thank Sergeant Anthony Barborg. He spearheaded this effort, he's been doing it for the last couple of years. Um the Rainham Police Department has raised more than$3,800 this year. And um I want to send a special thanks to Stoneforge Restaurant, Rainham, because um they participated in the fundraiser and a significant amount of those proceeds which came from them. Um we have one officer that's out on IOT.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you, Chief. And I'll just maybe iterate that copy that we talked was a great event. We had a full house of seniors and many officers there, and they did a great job. And you revealed some statistics about how the police effort has increased so much over the last uh five or ten years. And I was going to bring that, and of course I forgot it. But next month we will uh go over that for sure because I think it's important for the public to know about that. So thank you, Chief. Mr. Bachie.
SPEAKER_10:No, no questions, just to highlight the October 30th incident. Um we've talked to the prior boards about why we support uh police officers doing details and not civilian flaggers, and I think this again just highlights um our position.
SPEAKER_05:Mr.
SPEAKER_02:Collins agree with you again when you say there's no significant incidents last month. But I mean with 91 emergency calls and 17 around.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we'd be here all night if I started 17 or thank you. Oh, thank you.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you, Chief. And as always, thank you and the members of your department for everything you do, day in and day out, to keep us safe. We appreciate it. Okay, we have no appointments this evening. We have no public hearings scheduled. Completion of old and continuing business. Do you have anything Mr. Mr. Collins? Mr. Barnes, do you have any old or continuing business to share?
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. Um brings us to new business. But if it's okay with my um colleagues, we're going to hold on the special town meeting. We our other items are very quick, and we'll just move through them, and then we can spend um more time on the special town meeting and warrant discussion. So the next on the agenda is discussion and vote on assistant town administrator. This is a position that we posted in-house. It is just a position to uh temporary position to fill in when the town administrator is not available either for vacation time or um for other personal business. And um, I will turn it over to you, Mr. Pacific.
SPEAKER_10:Thank you, madam. Chess uh uh with appreciation for all those who applied. Um my choice is going to be in line with the reason why I voted to hire Mr. Barnes, and that is um fiscal acumen. I think um with the the financial environment we're in right now, and I believe continue to head towards uh even during a one or two-day lull, uh, should Mr. Barnes be hope for any reason, we need to make sure that that is the henhouse that's protected the most. Um, and after conversations with Mr. Barnes to make sure that there's um synergy between the two of them, I would suggest we move forward with our finance director, Chris Lottlet.
SPEAKER_05:Motion, Mr. Collins.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I personally think to also think the three candidates have three totally qualified candidates. Um, I personally also do enough. Um Chris and Franklin doing it most specifically because of the continuity of them being here in the building and having a relationship. Um the other two candidates that we had, um, the chief police and the captain of the police, I think are more than qualified enough to do the job, and I also think they have plenty on their plate. I greatly appreciate their willingness to do. I think it says a lot about both of them. Um but again, I wanted to try to keep it here in-house and in the building, and everybody's familiar with Chris who works here, I think it would be a good continuity that would be a good fit.
SPEAKER_05:So, any further discussion? I will just add we did have three excellent applicants, and uh any one of the three could do the job at Mr. Level that already works on a daily basis, practically with uh Mr. Bonds. Um so I would uh support that motion as well, just for the public's benefit. It is a part-time position. Um the individual must do his regular job in addition to this, and it is a stipend position, it pays$2,000 a year, so it's not a big moneymaker, for sure. Um, so any further discussion? Hearing now all in favor, so vote. And continuing then we have ratification of memorandum of agreement with the Renium Parkholders Union covering in fiscal year 2026 to fiscal year 2028 contract periods, which is a three-year contract. And uh go to you, Mr. Chica, since you represented the board on the negotiations.
SPEAKER_10:Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. As you said, a three-year contract with 2% coal over the process of three years. Uh, and some important, I think, um, concessions on the unions we have that will benefit the town in the long run, uh, including uh increasing the cost of health insurance for new hires uh and refining um excuse me the uh bio language uh for uh retirements and the like. So I strongly urge the board to uh support this fair and equitable contract.
SPEAKER_05:And that is the motion that has already been ratified by the by those new boards? Yes, and by us, exactly. Yes, that is something that we had discussed in the negotiations and executive session previously. Mr. Collins?
SPEAKER_02:I have no concern for it.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_05:Um any further discussion on the committee or call recommends?
SPEAKER_10:I don't think so.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. All in favor? Any opposed? It is a voted unanimous voters. And next we have discussion and vote on lease for 2000 King Phillips Street. Mr. Barnes, anything you can tell us about this?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, uh, as uh you know on uh King Phillips uh street uh there is a uh building that the town owns. It's a house. Um they leased that house. Um the park and rec recently had done a number of upgrades to it as the long-standing tenants had left. Um we are now asking to enter into another one-year lease after doing a market rate analysis plus the upgrades. Uh the rent has gone from 1325 to 2500 per month. So it's a significant increase based on the upgrades and a market analysis, and this is for one year only.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you, Mr. Barnes. Mr. Chipman? Motion to approve it. Any further discussion? Hearing and all in favor, any opposed? It is so voted. And lastly, we had discussion and vote on change order with the door and woody here for a public safety voting project. And Mr. Barnes, what can you tell us about this?
SPEAKER_03:Uh yes, uh the uh we uh to the degree we're now looking at a new location for the public safety building. It requires uh surveying and geotechnical engineering services, and this is a contract uh to engage in that for$109,230.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you, Mr. Pachico. Motion to approve, Mr. Collins. Any further discussion? You rank then all in favor? Any approvals? So voted. Any covering the business, Mr. Pachico? Mr. Collins. So Jitani Administrator's report, Mr. Vollmes.
SPEAKER_03:Uh yes, um the uh I wasn't uh second here, well to say it off the top of my head. Uh the um every year we look at grant grant opportunities. Um as you know, we received a few grants through the um highway. Um I had uh been working on some grant opportunities uh through the Massworks grant. Uh one of them was uh for Paramount Drive to redo Paramount Drive. Unfortunately, we did not get that grant. Uh the other one, uh well, it didn't directly involve the town, it it's to do with 138. So I uh working with uh one of our engineers discussed the concept of trying to apply for a grant for the the main water um pipe on uh 138. Um because it is with the uh North Rainham Water District, we ultimately put uh this engineer uh in consultation with the North Rainham Water District. He worked with them on this grant, which you have to apply through through the town. And uh I'm happy to say the uh North Rainham Water District, in concert with the town, received$3.5 million in a MassWorks grant, which I think is the first MassWorks grant that the town or any entity has received in recent times. Uh it's not saying it hadn't occurred in the past, but I have no record of it. And$3.5 million is a fair amount of money. The idea is to go up to bid, uh, hoping the overall project cost with this is not bringing them now is going to be$5 million. Um they won't need to borrow, and we're hoping this will have positive implications for the 138 project. A little update on the 138 project. I know many people are wondering what's happening out there. They're still working on curb cuts, they're still working on drainage, they're still working on sidewalks. Uh there's also the gas company that is just, I believe, just completed their work. Uh once the contractor Lynch completes what needs to be done on 138, it will be paved. Uh right now, that paving is likely to occur in the spring of 2027 because there's still quite a significant amount of work left. But we're trying to do this grant. The hope is that it will help us in our goal of uh trying to do things right the first time. As you may recall, uh, the original plan was sidewalks on both sides and to take out the concrete understructure. I can't say with any certainty this grant will um uh allow for that result, but I can't tell you it will get us that much closer, and again, it will be a great benefit to the ratepayers of not brain them. Uh so I'm uh well well the Not Rainum did apply for it. I did hook them up with it. I'm quite proud of that activism.
SPEAKER_05:Congratulations, Mr. Bones. Questions for Mr. Boss? All right, I think we're going to hold the rest of the agenda and go back to new business discussion of the special town meeting on warrant of November 17th, 2023, with our town moderator and other interested parties. Since this is the closest that we have to what used to be our pre-town meeting, I'm going to ask our town moderator, uh John Donahue, if he would come up here, and also our maybe capital planning uh chairman, Mr. Loftus, and our finance committee chairman, and we will turn this portion of the meeting over to you, John. With our great appreciation for all your efforts.
SPEAKER_04:Well, good evening, everybody. And thank you, uh Chair Riley, for allowing us the time to kind of spend a little bit of time on the Town Meeting Warrant, the special town meeting warrant. I think everybody knows Brendan Loftus in Philadelphia Capital Planning and Finance Committee. And Chris, did you have a presentation or do that first?
SPEAKER_12:Sure. If that if that's what pleases everybody, sure, I'll do that. Yeah, I think so. Okay. So in the package for the board members and for folks sitting at the table currently, uh prepared an executive summary to kind of give you a rundown of what to expect to tell me. But basically, there are approximately 20 articles that are uh spending consider with spending considerations, uh, a combination of uh general capital spending to be funded from free cash, uh, sewer capital spending to be funded from sewer retained earnings, and then there are actually several transfers of funds uh either from free cash to other funds or from the annuals receipts reserved fund uh to the general fund for operating purposes. But anyway, I'll give you uh a bit uh quick summary of uh what's actually in the executive summary. So free cash was certified about two weeks ago. Total free cash certified was 6,825,256 as a result of it at the end of fiscal 25, indeed 230, 2025. Um total spending contemplated from either spending or transfer of funds, 6,503,713. Of the 6,503,713, the most significant item is a transfer of free cash of$4.4 million to the new public safety building capital project fund to offset any potential borrowing or actually any potential uh cost beyond our borrowing authorization for that project. Um there is currently$6.8 million in that fund. This$4.4 would then be added to that fund, meaning that would be that much less money that would have to be borrowed in the event that the ultimate project cost exceeds the$30.5 million borrowing authorization previously put by the town folks. Um the two most significant capital items within the general capital spending plan is$750,000 requested uh for supplemental chapter 90 funding. So the state of Massachusetts through its chapter 90 program uh uh appropriates to the town's rate approximately$560,000 on an annual basis. Basically, for all your infrastructure improvements. Um the Finance Committee and Capital Planning Committee have approved uh an additional$750,000 to supplement what the state provides to do those same uh infrastructure improvements. The other large item is approximately$345,000 for a refurbishment of engine three at the fire department. Uh within the sewer uh retained earnings, sewer retained earnings was uh certified at uh was approximately$3.5 million. Uh$1,445,000 is being recommended as either uh for capital purposes for the sewer department, uh, or to supplement uh effectively what will become a bill due from the city of Ponton for the ponds, sorry, for the random share of the pond improvements to its wastewater treatment facility, and$370,000 will be transferred from retained earnings uh to the sewer and enterprise stabilization fund. Uh that fund has approximately$358,000 in it. Um total available fund, the total available in that fund after transfer will be a million three twenty eight. Uh that we$1,328, we would be used for future capital, future debt service, or for rate stabilization, or in fact, even possibly a rate reduction in the future. Um we're going to make a transfer from the peg access and cable related fund. These are monies that we collect from both uh internet providers here in the town of Rayham, so that will be Comcast and Verizon to Ray Camp on a uh on a recurring basis. Currently, there's 191,644 available in that fund that we are going to transfer that balance to them. Uh the ambulance receipts reserve fund has got to fund a couple of items. Uh 568,425 is going to be used to fund the second half of operations for the ambulance. Another 101,630 is for capital spending to purchase a Lucas CPR machine and a cardiac monitor. Uh total available balance in the ambulance receipts reserve fund as of uh September 30th is 1,051290. After this spending and/or transfer of funding, there'll be a balance of 31235, and that balance changes on a daily basis every time we update the general legislative receipts for increase. Uh and I believe that's all I have for talking about the school capital items. There's$457,000 as a change uh in the plan right now. The largest item is for replacement of bleaches at the Green of Middle School. Um the reason for the replacement is because the floor in the gym was replaced recently. And if you don't replace those bleaches, you're going to stand there from the floor. That's the primary purpose of replacing those bleaches. The cost is significant as well.
SPEAKER_03:That supplement's money from the spring.
SPEAKER_12:Yeah, that yes, it's sorry. And the 457 supplements$258,000 that we voted in the spring to that game to copy.
SPEAKER_04:Those bleaches are 25 years old? Already. I'm trying to think when that's 99. 99, 2000. Open in O1, Pat? Yeah. Okay. I think we can expect to start seeing more of that type of stuff without building up there, correct? Shouldn't come as a surprise, right? I know it's very well maintained. Yes. I know a district does, and that team over there does a phenomenal job maintaining that building, but things wear out. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_12:I can have class, I just have$1,300 repair of my 33-year-old partners, but I'm saying 33 years on it, did you? Uh, question for you, Chris.
SPEAKER_04:Back to Sewer, and I will maybe this is for for Gil. Um, the$800,000 for premium share of improvements to the wastewater treatment.
SPEAKER_12:Is that one time, or is this the beginning of a this well actually it's going to supplement money that's already been voted in prior town meetings? So there's an expectation that we're going to get a bill, that bill is equal to almost 15.5% of the total project cost for the improvements that have been done. We're still, you know, the sewer, the sewer folks, the sewer commission still waiting for a final alley. So they're anticipating a big bill at some point. They want to make sure they have funds available for the paper. They've been putting money away a little bit.
SPEAKER_04:Yep. Yeah, I know those improvements have been talked about for 15, 20 years. So it's we knew it was coming.
SPEAKER_12:And you know that most of the project is complete right now. It's just a matter of when the city card decides to actually borrow the money for the project and set us.
SPEAKER_04:Um I guess I'll pause there if anybody has any questions for Chris. Just a few more articles I want to touch on before we can kind of wrap it. Brendan, do you have anything on behalf of Capital Planning that can supplement what Chris offered? Or Chris is doing a dumb job. I think I would not want to step on his tolls at all on that issue. He's doing a great job. Modest as always, Mr. Chairman. Capital Planning Committee does it do. They do a great job.
SPEAKER_09:They do agree. I just want to clarify, John, that uh we had a joint meeting of the Finance Committee of Capital Planning with Greg and Chris last Monday, and we voted as required on the articles, and they'll be updated and we posted.
SPEAKER_04:Is everything recommended, everything financial recommended by the BinCops? Yes. Perfect. Um anybody in the in the audience have a question finance related for Chris or for Brendan or Gill? Otherwise, I think we'll just kind of yeah, one up. I guess technically we're still in your agenda, right? So name and address without minutes.
SPEAKER_08:I just have a question on the um 4400 for the public safety building because uh I don't know, to me it's a little bit like the phone money after that.
SPEAKER_07:I mean, we had consulting firm that was the absolute possible. Absolutely impossible for that would do orchestre. We had to find a new location. So we found one, and now that one would fell yet. Now that same consulting firm help is the orchestra? So I I don't know. Should we back to go back to the program? I I just want to talk about the money after that. It's not like a little bit of money. We're talking about so I just think it's something we should question.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I think I certainly were not in a position to answer that question. I'll defer to the chief and selectman probably have opinions on that.
SPEAKER_00:So I can uh I can tell you that we made significant cuts from the initial uh building, and also we had two outbuildings that have been taken away, so that reduced the uh amount of space that we needed significantly. So that's that's the best answer I can give.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I mean the thing to stress is we did want this at Porton Colony. Um we did have issues with site costs, but ultimately we were trying to work on a financial plan to cover that. But ultimately what happened was uh the there is wetland on the 10-acre site, and uh it was determined to be what's called connected wetland versus isolated wetland, and under state law you cannot fill in more than 5,000 square feet. So because it was ultimately determined to be connected wetland initially, the uh the ruling was that uh from our consultants was it was uh non-connected, but what had happened, a underground drainage system built uh during the time of the poor farm was discovered. That drainage system is not on the 10-acre site, it borders the 10-acre sites, but it drains into that system. And you know, while we'd love to change state law, we you know, if it just went in the groundwater and came up, uh would have been a whole nother issue, uh, that rendered that site non-viable. And um so we've looked at alternatives, it does mean some compromises, uh it's not not um going to be the same facility, but uh I want to stress it's gonna be a facility um 1,000 percent better than what they have now. Uh it is uh a grossly inadequate facility right now, and whether the town wishes to spend the money or not, we have to look at its replacement.
SPEAKER_05:If I could just add, Mr. Moderatory, the only thing that's not a question is the need for a new facility. That facility is not only outdated, it's a dangerous situation for our police and our firefighters who work there. There is no containment area for firefighters that are in a scene of a fire and maybe dealing with hazardous. Materials. They should have a containment area when they come back to shower. They do not have that. It violates so many codes. It's not funny. I think when it rains, it not only comes through the ceiling, it comes up through the floor. That building is disgraceful and they would really need to do a new facility. And this would still be a new facility. They would gut the existing facility because, as we were told at that first meeting that Mrs. Nickerson referred to, that building is beyond repair. It needs to be replaced. That's the only that is just beyond question.
SPEAKER_06:I mean, I totally am in agreement with that, and I totally understand the problem on King Phillip Street. That wasn't my question. My question was: are we doing the right thing by just moving forward with this plan? I mean, I don't want the police of fire to be settling for anything. I want them to have what they should have and to address all their issues. But I'm just wondering, are we just throwing good money after bad unless we go back to the drawing board? Because maybe it should just be the fire station there. Maybe the police should get another location. I mean, I don't know if they want to be together. I I that probably don't know about. But I'm just questioning it. I'm not saying that I just don't want them to take less than what they deserve, what the town of Rainham deserves. I'm not saying we don't need a facility. I know we need a facility. I went in there for the Memorial Day parade. I was appalled at the fire station. I'd never seen all that. It was amazing to me. So that's not what I'm saying. I just don't want to waste money.
SPEAKER_10:Thank you, Mr. Monterita. Just uh to clarify a few points. Orchard Street wasn't selected not because it wasn't viable. It was selected because it wasn't at the time the most advantageous project in terms of overall cost, especially when we felt like we could get King Phillip Street because we already owned it and had confidence that former Senator Pachico would be able to get it through the legislative process for us. As we continued to move on, and because we didn't want to expend money before that state approval was received, we did not uncover the drainage that was not known to anybody in town at all because there were no claims for that platement. Once we got the approval and the governor signed off on it, we continued to do our due diligence. At that point, we found the connected weapons that the administrator was speaking to and made the determination that that site was not valuable, it was cost prohibitive. So we pivoted back to Orchard Street. We had meetings with our building team to make sure that we could build a state of the facility that didn't meet the needs of both police and fire, and do it within a budget that was respectful to the taxpayers' gradient, which is why we're back at Orchard Street. I would not say we're settling for anything, and I think that's why both departments have come forward and supported this pivot, because they also believe it to be a valuable and appropriate site. What we also could not do is renovate that site, so it's going to be completely new construction. But I would never call it settling, and just to clarify for the firm a speaker, so hopefully that gives her some sense of ease. We did make sure, and we were also told, which I think is an equal benefit, that with minor modifications, the plan that we had at King Phillip Street, architecturally speaking, can be carried over, so we're not throwing away those plans and having to create brand new ones from scratch. So I can tell the folks at home and in the audience, countless hours, thousands of hours has been spent on this project to try to get it across the finish line. Thank you. Mr. DuPont.
SPEAKER_04:Let's all keep in mind this is an informational meeting. Um save your bullets for town meeting, Jim.
SPEAKER_11:I came alone and unarmed and made sure I wasn't being followed. James DuPont 118 Elm Street East. I've been following this project since it began, and when we came to town meeting previously, I did some looking into it and had discussions with fire department and police department operational and people, private discussions. I'm not going to mention any names. But in looking at it at the time, I had concerns about it. I came to one of the building committee meetings, was basically told something that I had had as a possible alternative approach to it. That ship is safe. Well, that ship has come back into dock, and I wish to tell you that at the time, and and uh Chief Donovan said, I had conversations with him, and I said, if this is what you want, as my fire chief and my police chief who protect my life and property, then that's what I wanted to have. And I went to town meeting to say exactly that. And I'm here tonight to say I vigorously oppose this crime proposed. There's a number of things I'm gonna say, and these are these are not the bullets, John. I got better ones for town meetings. Cut me off then.
SPEAKER_04:You might cut you off tonight, too.
SPEAKER_11:You might I can walk home from here, but I can't beat you on the floor on the road. Um number one, I've seen discussions and read published reports that somehow, because Taunton is doing a joint police fire public safety facility, therefore Rainham should do the same. And and in my day, and our good friend, the late Don McKinnon, if you wanted to kill something in Rainham, the first thing you did was say, this is how Taunt does it. Because Don would quickly say, You're a city, this is a town. Uh, and then looking at it, and I'm not a public safety professional, and I and people of plant and the civility are people that I have the utmost respect of the job they do, no doubt about it. But in looking at it, I say, police and fire at different operational bases. Fire department, let's answer the phone, let's go to the site and respond. Police department, let's go to work, get in our cars, go out and look for trouble. Uh, and as such, a central dispatch for fire department is essential, particularly in a small town where we have certain population distributions. And I don't even know right now if there's even been a study of the response times in terms of how many people would be affected by the King Phillips site as opposed to the current Orchard Street location. I I heard the statements made by Chief Gentleman at the time that they meet the national standards. But is are they the best place? Is that would that have been the best place? Now, when somebody told me that they were going back to Orchard Street, and there are people in this room who know that I grew up across the street at 54 Orchard Street when Town Hall was 53, and the police department was two offices at the end of the hall. The town has grown. So have the needs and the mission and the need and the operational realities of the police and the fire department. We need to respect that. I don't think that a combined police fire safety fire police safe public safety facility is in the best interest of public safety. I don't think it's in the best interest of accomplishing the mission that the police and fire want to do. Area towns, Bridgewater, Carver, Middleboro. When they had space issues and building issues, they built a new police station. They expanded their existing fire station. They didn't say, let's put them all together. And I think that that was essentially a political decision at the time to say if we get everybody into one, everybody who wants that will all vote for one thing. The impact on that neighborhood, I think, is not acceptable. You will be adding to the burden of living on Orchard Street, King Street, and South Main Street in that triangle that currently surrounds the Orchard Street location. One conversation I had with somebody with the fire department prior to the last town meeting, I said, if you were the fire chief, where would be the best place to centrally locate your response to the town of Rainham? He said, right here. Right here on Orchard Street. And I think that you've got an issue of if you do go to this Orchard Street option, what are you going to do when you need more space? When you have more equipment, you have more personnel. When I sold electronics and computers, I would tell people, don't buy this like you buy a pair of shoes so that it fits. Because your needs are going to change, you're going to grow. You go into Orchard Street, you're already constricted now, and now you want to somehow expand in a location that by everyone's admission is not sufficient for both departments. I think the best approach, we need to rethink the entire thing, consider future and current needs. Fire station is central dispatch, fire location, central location for personnel, equipment, police. They need central location for administrative, post-arrest, post-incident things. But their vehicles and their personnel are out and about. And then all of those people can come down here and tell you why they shouldn't do it. Why don't you just you're going to hear from Orchard Street, King Street, and South Manor why you should not do this. And any place you go with the police station and fire station, you're going to have opposition. I think the fact of the matter is the best place for the fire department is right where it is right now. Right now. The fire department. Not both of them. I think the best thing to do would be to find another location for the police department. I respectfully respect the Chief of Plant, because this is what he does. Where are most of the calls? Where are most of the responses? I would suspect that that would be on Route 44, perhaps post second, 138. And as such, someplace along South Street, perhaps even on Route 44 for a police station. If you got the police station, the police department out of Orchard Street, that would free up that entire location for fire and public safety and emergency response. My suggestion would be just layman, get the police department a new location that meets their current and future needs, not shoehorns it in. And this is good, this is what we can afford, and this fits. We're talking about lives here, not money, not convenience. If you could relocate the police department to another location, it might even be better for their response needs based on the statistics of showing where they need to respond to. That frees up all of Orchard Street for an expanded fire station. As far as I see it, once you got a police department relocated, you could move the administrative end of the fire department into the current police department, which used to be town hall, retrofit and revamp the rest of the building for current equipment, future equipment needs, and not overly impact the neighborhood. And probably at much less cost. We've already spent how much money to find out we couldn't do it, where everybody here respectfully said, oh, this is great. This is what we need to do. Oh, we can't do that one. Well, it's still great, but we can't do it. So why don't we do the one that we couldn't do that we said how desperately we needed to get out of? So moderator John, thank you very much for your time. I just want you to know as it stands now, I intend to vigorously oppose this one. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Jim?
SPEAKER_04:Um other than uh any more questions from I think we started with questions for Chris, right? Any more questions on financial items? I noticed we've got a few, we're gonna fund some some um some uh collective bargaining agreements. There are some, Chris did all the highlights, but there are some other smaller capital items that um you know perhaps we'll talk about August 17th. Perhaps we will, perhaps we'll see how that goes. We're gonna step some roadways. Um that's very difficult for fall. Uh, and then there are two articles, three are three proposed amendments to zoning bylaws. Um the first one we had on the ward in May, but we had to uh postpone it for um more or less protocol reasons. Umbetted with um some general bylaws, proposed amendments that require a majority vote. These will require a two-thirds vote because we're amending proposing to amend zuling bylaws, and this is to strike any reference to the board of selectmen or selectmen within the zoning bylaws and replace them uh with select board. Um that was done in the general bylaws back in the spring, which is just more or less uh following through on that. And then we've got two articles um that both deal with the existing bylaw that defines what an associate member of the planning board is, and I believe the town meeting passed this two or three years ago, maybe 22, 23, somewhere around 22 maybe. Um the way that the associate member of the planning board is appointed now is through a joint meeting of the uh planning board and the board of selectmen. There is a proposal sponsored by the board of selectmen to uh revamp the way that that associate member is um is sat, and then the proposal is to have it be in the elected position serving a two-year term. I would imagine if that passes, that would be at the next election. Yes, we're getting a nod. That's good. Um so again, we we've got this this proposed amendment would take the associate member from out of the appointed realm and into the elected realm, serving a two-year term. Um any vacancy to be filled in the next available um town-wide election. That's article number one dealing with the associate member. That article number two is was submitted by citizens' petition, and what article, in this case, article 29, what that would propose to do is to just to completely repeal the um zoning by law that uh established the associate member of the planning board back in 2022. So um we've got they would both require a two-thirds majority. Um I'm waiting to hear from town council on how best to. I see you, Jim. Let me uh finish my comments and then we'll have you up. Um waiting on town council to see what his suggestions are for how to deal with subsequent uh amendments, uh suggested amendments that are sort of at odds with each other. You can't do both, obviously. Um so the question that we're working through now is how best to uh to deal with these two articles. My inclination um up front is to put both articles on the floor at the same time and discuss them in a global discussion regarding the associate member of the planning board in general. And there would obviously be three outcomes. There would be either town meeting supports the selectment's proposed elected route, um the town meeting could support the citizen's petition to repeal the associate member of the planning board, or both articles could fail, and we would just go on the way we're currently going on. Um it gets tricky in my mind, it's kind of like chicken and egg, right? Because if Article 28 passes, then the referenced bylaw in Article 29 is no longer accurate. So we're not sure that withstand any any any test of legality. Vice versa, if Article 29 were dealt with first and in that passed, uh, then Article 28 would more or less be moot because there wouldn't technically be an associate member bylaw. So we're gonna weaving the town town council um and I will spend the next couple weeks or so trying to figure out the best way to approach this. I'm assuming um I haven't heard uh otherwise. I don't know if the citizens petition um sponsor Lorraine, is that you? Yeah. You continue you is your intention to continue on? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_06:I submitted my article by September 23rd.
SPEAKER_04:Okay. Um I didn't know if article I didn't know if the article article 28 submitted by the board of selecting this.
SPEAKER_06:No, they didn't even meet on until October 7th.
SPEAKER_04:Gotcha.
SPEAKER_06:Three days before the the deadline.
SPEAKER_04:So we'll go forward. Uh we'll go forward with both articles, and um and we'll we'll see what happens. And uh as I sit here tonight, I can't tell you what that's gonna look like because um there's some legal things to work on before we get there. So I'll pause there. I hope I didn't mischaracterize any of the intentions of the board or the citizens' petition, but my job is not to judge the articles, my job is just to make sure that the vote is accurate and uh it stands the test of uh any legal, potential legal um challenge, which I would hope wouldn't happen, but open it up for comments. Mr. Dupont, come on up.
SPEAKER_11:As unaccustomed to public speaking as I am. John, you you make a uh Mr. Mottery, you make an interesting point and a valid one about the two articles being in conflict that if one passes and makes the second one inoperative because it refers to an article and a bylaw that no longer exists. Theoretically theoretically, uh respectfully through you two town council, I think that you might be able to cure that by some sort of amendment on this law. Uh but uh let me just comment uh global on the two. Um other towns uh in particular are good friends in the city, who are trying to be so much like a native public state. Um they don't have associate members on their planning board. They have them on their board of appeals. Now, in Taunton in particular, which is a good example of the site, the way it works is they have a number they have a number of seats that are full voting members. And the people who finish out of that number after seven, eight, nine, become associate members who ascend to full membership status in the event that an elected person recuses themselves or is not present. But it is only for the purpose of whatever article presentation that is. And as such, when that comes up again, that other person must leave the room and recuse themselves, and the other person was present for the discussion as the associate becomes in. I don't believe, and I remember something, and I think Jonah just say this. I was listening to a discussion some years ago about Larry Bird is talking about basketball. I said, Well, so-and-so's a point guard, and this one's a cutting guard, and this one's an offensive guard. Larry Byrd said, you're either a guard or you're not a guard. And I would like to think respectfully that in the planning board in particular, you're either a member or you're not a member. And that if there are issues of being reduced from that because of conflicts of interest, which happens in small towns all too often, that this is something that would be a political position. Matter that the voters should be able to determine if that's who they want to elect, that's who they elect. And if that, and the biggest problem that the towns that have the associate members on uh zoning board of appeals, which we appoint and not elect, is that they need a certain number of votes on certain proposals, and if they don't have enough members who can vote, they need the associate member. But it's never been for the planning board. I I did have to collect how we have this. I think we're heading down the surgery slope, trying to codify a way to give somebody voting status on something that the voters should essentially decide on a finite member. If you've got five members, you got seven members, that's who the voters get to elect on a rotating basis, whatever conflicts arise in the interim time or something. People need to consider when they vote.
SPEAKER_04:Maybe there's somebody in the audience that knows better than I do. I don't profess to follow the planning board all that closely. But I think that there are certain is it's the special permit process that requires a specific number of votes? No, I wish somebody were here to answer that. I don't think planning, John.
SPEAKER_11:I think it's just the Board of Appeals, there are specific statutes that you need a certain number of votes, but I could be wrong.
SPEAKER_04:Um yeah, so I think town meeting has to wrestle with a couple of things here, right? And I hope somebody makes makes the argument both ways because when they're both sides of the of the issue are represented well, then town meeting can make an informed decision. And I think the first decision we need to make is to appoint you, should we have an associate member, right? We do now, um, but now here's an opportunity to no longer have an associate member. If town meeting comes to the conclusion that they like the idea, if somebody gets up or several people get up and convince the members that the associate member is a worthwhile endeavor, then it becomes now more down to two questions, right? Is it the new proposal of elected for two years, or is it the current situation, the current structure, appointed by Planning Board and Board of Selectment and a joint structure. So, you know, I I hope it's a robust discussion, and I hope town meeting we leave that night with some sort of consensus that either A the associate member makes sense or it doesn't, and then B, if it does, here's what we think it should look like, and we go from there. And uh, you know, I think we're as a town, we're better for it if town meeting votes in with all the information available to to everybody. And I put my faith in the voters of Rainham. They've they've quite often um what's the old Churchill quote about the Americans? They will eventually do the right thing only after they've exhausted all with the wrong options, right? Um but I think that the people in Rainham, the voters of Rainham, at least the town meeting, have um more often than not come to the right conclusion. I'm confident that they'll do so on the 17th. Anybody else want to talk about the associate member? Lorraine, are you good? I'm good. You're good? No, we'll see you on the 17th, right? Yeah. Um I don't know, I don't have I don't have anything else. Um? Brendan? Chris? Good. Greg? We'll we'll push it back to the uh to the selector.
SPEAKER_05:Thank you. I just want to thank our town moderator and our planning board and capital planning committee for all that they do. A lot of work in addition to our planning instructor and having data, a lot of work wasn't too much for the set time meeting. So we greatly appreciate it. I think we left off with select boards before. Mr. Pichika, do you have anything?
SPEAKER_10:Uh again, just a reminder that ranking we've asked a continued uh monetary donations that book to their executive director last week, and uh they've already started getting uh an increased request load, so uh Fiobuck 421 Rainham Center 02768 is where checking.
SPEAKER_05:And I think donations can be left to the Rainham Public Library. Thank you, Mr. Bachik and Mr. Collins. Okay, just to have a couple of reminders. Tomorrow at 1230, our Rainham Senior Center is going to be having an anniversary celebration. The senior centers, I believe, 25 years old. So they're going to be celebrating, and the public is invited to that. Also on Saturday, beginning at 10 o'clock, our American Region Post 405 is going to have their Veterans Day ceremony. Again, the public is invited to that. That's American Region Post 405 on Mill Street. And our Veterans Day assemblies in our ranging schools, in Rayan Middle School, La Liberty and tomorrow will be held on Monday. And we will not be meeting next week because next Tuesday is Veterans Day. So we will not be meeting next Tuesday, and town hall offices will also be closed during the day, and that's all that I have right now. We have no correspondence. Press time, do we have anyone from the press? Um emergency business, Mr. Pacico? Mr. Barnes, do you have any emergency business for us? I do not. Citizen and community input. Do we have anyone else who would like to address us at this time? Seeing no one, just to report under performance of administrative duties that our finance director and I have reappeared and signed up on Iranian invoice and payroll warrants dated November 4th, 2025. And with that, I am looking for a motion to go into executive session in accordance with mass general laws, Chapter 30, Section 21A2 and 3 to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel and to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body, and the chair so declares, and this is specifically for non-union positions and police union negotiations, including the main and nine-women operators, and we will return to open session for the sole purpose of adjourned meeting. Do we have a motion? And a second, we'll call both Mr. Richard, Mr. Collins, Chair Bon's eye, again this vote. We are going into executive session. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. We'll see you at all 10.