The Holliston Select Board’s January 31, 2022, meeting was called to order by Chair Tina Hein at 7:00pm.  The Board quickly set about tackling its full agenda.

Holliston Community Garden at Pinecrest – Presentation of Business Plan

Below, Adam Taylor (Left) and Deb Moore (Right) presented the Board with a plan to operate the community garden taking over the management from the Agricultural Commission.

For those not familiar with this public resource.  It is neatly tucked away on the Pinecrest golf course property – shown in the photo below.

The plan is outlined below.

Following discussion with Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Moore, the Board recommended that the proposed organizational structure be set up as a separate Sub-committee of the Golf Course Advisory Committee (GCAC) so that all things related to the Pinecrest property are coordinated by one committee.  The recommendation will be taken back to the GCAC for follow through.

Monday nights at the Select Board meeting has included an update from Emergency Management Director / Fire Chief Michael Cassidy.  This week is no exception – but . . . see the end of this section.

Above, the most recent surge is subsiding!

At this point in the pandemic, when scientists suggest that COVID will remain part of our lives, tracking cases will become more like other common diseases as described below.

The Moderna vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA. 

The ARPA Steering Group will meet February 10, 2022.

It’s not too late to schedule a vaccination / booster at this coming Saturday’s COVID clinic. https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/transformativehealth?calendar=e710308b-6c6f-41a8-9d2a-a894e0b46b64&fbclid=IwAR3SUhWb4E4_BwjPjCsKk45QenyfbEJDxxsOxWQ4ifVE02Hf-ZusFo_dnug

The Board thanked Chief Cassidy for this update and concluded that weekly updates are not currently needed.  Going forward he will be on the agenda when the situation warrants.

Warrants – The Board approved the weekly warrant totaling $2,959,660.13.

Public Comment:

• Mr. Cronin:
  • Asked residents to shovel out nearby fire hydrants
  • He commended the DPW on its snow removal work during Saturday’s Nor’easter
  • DPW will be removing the large piles of snow in the downtown area Tuesday (Feb 1) starting at 9:00pm
• Mr. Sparrell:
  • Added his thanks for the DPW’s snow work – he was “very impressed”
• Mrs. Hein:
  • Added her thanks for the DPW’s snow work
• Public:
  • Blake Mensing (below right) offered the following:
    • Holliston should opt in to the Marijuana Delivery law (potential Town Meeting Article)
    • Based on his Public Records Request, he noted that his client, Zen LLC, is the only marijuana cultivator / manufacturer denied an HCA by Holliston
    • Another cultivator/manufacture near the proposed Zen facility recently was allowed to transfer its HCA to a new operator
    • Mr. Mensing asserted that he did not make false statements at Town Meeting and alleged inappropriate communication between town officials and Town Counsel

• Andres Vargas (below) came to the Board to raise his displeasure with the snow removal efforts near his home on Curve Street.

Mr. Vargas expressed his concern for vehicle and pedestrian safety due to the large snow piles at the intersection with Washington Street and on the sidewalk along Curve St.  This issue stems from private plow drivers depositing snow from the Rossini Corner retail parking lots onto the sidewalk.  The Town sent a letter to the landlord last winter.  DPW Reese shared his frustration about how hard it is to catch plows in the act of violating a state law prohibiting depositing snow from private property onto public roads and sidewalks.  The Town Administrator will seek guidance from Town Counsel regarding the best legal recourse.

Water Rate Hearing – FY23 Rate Setting

The Public Hearing was opened exactly at 7:30pm – as advertised.

DPW Director / Water Department Superintendent Sean Reese (above right) joined the Board to present the proposed FY23 Water Rate.  With the proposed 1.25% increase (roughly $6.97 / year increase for most users), the deficit will be just shy of $250,000 – which will be drawn out of the Water Retained Earnings account.  Mr. Ahern pointed out FY 23 will be the largest deficit to fill and by adding a little to the rate now reduces the number of years of drawing on Retained Earnings.

Mr. Ahern and Mr. Reese presented the following charts to illustrate the financial condition of the water department.

Brian Moran (above) asked if there was a place on the Town website where citizens can see what our water fees, etc. have paid for?  Mr. Reese enumerated a few which translates into roughly 1 – 3 miles of water main replacement a year.  Mr. Ahern pointed to the recent Stantec Water Infrastructure study which outlines a replacement strategy over the next couple of decades. https://www.townofholliston.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif706/f/uploads/water_supply_water_main_imrovements_-_holliston.pdf

The Board unanimously approved the 1.25% rate increase for the FY 23 Water Rate.  The Public Hearing was closed at 7:54pm.

Comments from Town Administrator

• Viewpoint –
  • A 6-minute corporate profile of the Town of Holliston has been completed with the use of ARPA funds.  This will be distributed nation-wide in the near future.
  • The Town thanks Mary Greendale and Robert Weidknecht for their significant contributions to this production.
  • A 30-second promotional version of the program was shown (see below)

“Ask the TA” Citizens will be able to e-mail questions to Mr. Ahern.  AskTheTA@holliston.k12.ma.us  He will respond to the questions via an HCAT production. He announced that a promo of the segment will air on HCAT soon.  So, if it’s on your mind, it might be on other’s minds too – do a public service and Ask The TA so we can ALL learn.

FY2023 Budget Reviews:

• Sustainability – $50,000         0.0%

Matt Zettek, below, Holliston’s Sustainability Coordinator presented the proposed FY 23 Sustainability budget which basically covers his contracted services.  He was joined by Rich Rosenberry and Joan Levinsohn (bottom) who have partnered with Mr. Zettek on several environmental projects / programs.

• Facilities Maintenance – $291,749              +6.13%

Facilities Manager James Keast (below) Zoomed in from a classroom at Keefe Tech to cover his proposed budget.  The increase in his request is largely due to buying replacement parts to maintain equipment that would otherwise have been totally replaced – thus saving money in the long run.  Some of the increase is in the area of touch up painting – keeping things fresh. He noted that some departments have a similar line in their budgets.  Mr. Keast will examine what might be duplicative and potentially reduce the overall cost to the Town.

• Wastewater Treatment – $97,700              0.0% (A $6,000 energy savings is reinvested for maintenance of the over 20-year-old plant.)
• Liability Insurance – $336,306      +5.0%  (Recent claim experience drives premiums up.)

Board Business:

• The Board unanimously voted to appoint Mallory Franceschi as Assistant Treasurer.  Below, Mary Bosquet, Treasurer / Collector presents Ms. Franceschi’s credentials to the Board.  Ms. Franceschi has been working in the Treasurer / Collector’s office since 2019 and is known as a good worker.  Franceschi has attended Treasurer / Collector School and is working toward Assistant Treasurer Certification.  The appointment is effective, Monday, February 7, 2022.  Congratulations Mallory!

• Approved the minutes from the January 3, 2022 meeting.
• Accepted a $1,000 donation from the Wolf Charitable Foundation to Youth & Family Services
• Approved the Rail Trail Lease Agreements with commercial property owners who encroach on the Rail Trail right-of-way, as presented, for calendar year 2022

Other Business:

• Mr. Cronin announced that the Board received a letter from State Representative Carolyn Dykema announcing that she will be leaving the Legislature in February of this year.  What a loss!!!
• The Board asked Mr. Ahern to draft a letter of thanks to Rep. Dykema for her years of service to the State and to Holliston.
• The Board asked Mr. Ahern to draft a letter to Speaker of the House Mariano to hold a special election to fill our State Representative’s seat.  This is a critical time for State funding and material support, and we can’t afford to lose one of our voices at the State House.

The meeting adjourned at 9:04pm.