At 7:00pm on Monday, July 18, 2022, over 30 residents joined the Select Board meeting via Zoom – thanks to an extension of remote participation at public meetings signed by Governor Baker on Saturday (only one day after the old law expired – but in time for this meeting).  Below the Select Board prepares to have two presentations / discussions along with the ‘normal’ weekly agenda.

First up was a “meet and greet” to learn about a new proposed use for the property at 555 Hopping Brook Road.

Review of “Incentives Intent Letter” from New England Appliance Group (NEAG)

The Town has received a letter of Incentives Intent for NEAG to build a 550,000 square foot corporate headquarters, warehouse, and training facility at 550 Hopping Brook Road. NEAG Incentives Intent Letter

NEAG is a cooperative of 126 appliance dealers that is seeking to build a larger facility than their present location at 126 Grove St. in Franklin.  They invited all interested parties to visit the current location to get a sense of what kind of work is done there, how many / what types of trucks, how much noise, etc.

The conversation with the Select Board revolves around tax incentives that NEAG could get from Holliston.  Separately, the Planning Board will follow its normal review process for this proposed building.

Representing NEAG (below bottom right to left): Arthur Redding, NEAG Treasurer; Stephen Moran, NEAG President; Lynn Tokarczyk, Consultant; and Brian Bowen, NEAG Chief Operating Officer.

Attorney Elizabeth Lydon of Mead, Talerman, and Costa (Town Counsel) was present throughout the presentation and answered questions as needed.

Below are slides from their presentation which are generally self-explanatory.

Throughout the presentation, NEAG represented quoted their corporate tag-line “our success is delivering yours.”

NEAG will be the owner / occupier of the building. CRG Integrated Real Estate Solutions will develop / build the facility seen in the conceptual rendering below.

Traffic, especially truck volume, was discussed by NEAG.  The operation runs five days a week – no weekends (at this time.  Normal hours of operation would be 7am to 8pm.  There is an overnight shift that loads trailers already parked at the loading dock for the next day’s deliveries.  This is a private company that partners/manages its delivery trucks.  Mr. Bowen estimated that about 50 trucks would be making daily deliveries out to the co-op members.

The company wants to move quickly to secure a new location and incentives to begin their expansion.  The above timeline illustrates how the partnership could happen.  The key here is that only a Town Meeting vote can approve any TIF.  Apparently, the last TIF was approved in about twenty years ago.

The Board asked some questions of NEAG.  Mr. Bowen said that the operation could expand in the coming years and that the facility would have 80 – 100 loading docks.  The 50 truck trips / day could increase to 75 if that expansion occurs.  The building / operation would be designed with the nearby residential areas in mind.  No fueling would be done onsite. 

The Board thanked the NEAG reps for their presentation and interest and supports the project planning moving forward.  The Board appointed Mr. Ahern, Principal Assessor Kevin Rudden, and Mr. Cronin to be the members of the Town’s TIF team to work with NEAG to draft a TIF agreement.

Follow Up Discussion to the Fire/EMS Organizational Evaluation

Mr. Ahern, Asst Town Administrator/HR Director Buckley, Fire Chief Cassidy, and Facilities Manager Keast provided an update to the Board related to the recommendations received from MRI, Inc. following its Organization Evaluation back in May 2022.

Below, (bottom right – left: Fire Chief Michael Cassidy, Facilities Manager James Keast, ATA/HR Dir. Kathleen Buckley) were available to answer questions from the Board.

Mr. Ahern presented the following slides and added commentary as needed.  Chief Cassidy provided his point of view when appropriate.

Each of these themes was explored in more detail below.

Since the May 31, 2022, the staff noted in the earlier slide have reviewed the MRI recommendations, https://www.townofholliston.us/select-board/pages/2021-2022-project-study-reports-information grouped recommendations when possible and made the following recommendations:

Here, Chief Cassidy shared his reasoning for why the MRI recommendations do not make sense to implement at this time.

Mr. Ahern spoke to the recommendations still under review.  Research continues on how other communities balance the aging of their department members with passing on institutional knowledge.

At this point, Chief Cassidy voiced his disagreement that the Department would benefit from having a full-time Asst. Chief.  He cited past experiences that had not worked well with such a structure.

Chief Cassidy reported that since the Pay Equity 90-day test began on July 1st, there has been no need to go outside the Department for EMS coverage – in the past, it was an average of more than 2/week – still early day.

Mr. Keast prepared a memo (posted on the Town website on July 19, 2022) that outlines the work needed and associated costs to make the improvements.

As noted by MRI, many HFD Standard Operating Procedures are in draft form.  These will be finalized and posted.

Below, Mr. Ahern shared what comes next.  Step 3 is a meeting to be held in August with Mr. Ahern and Mr. Sparrell and Fire / EMS Officers to gain their perspective.  Ultimately, some of the recommended / necessary changes will have a financial impact which could appear on the Fall (and future) Town Meeting warrants.

Mr. Ahern will post the chart (example below) on the Town website when the Facilities Manager’s memo is posted.

The Board opened up the conversation to solicit public input.

Below, Chris Pierce, an experienced firefighter / Paramedic spoke to the critical need for a Standard Operating Procedure that dispatchers use when calls come in – specifically, that an engine / personnel should be dispatched along with the duty officer – rather than oftentimes just the duty officer alone.  His point being that its safer to send an unneeded engine / personnel back than to lose time waiting for the duty officer to call in more resources.  Mr. Pierce also supported the addition of the Asst Chief position to lead the EMS function and bring the two segments of HFD together.

Below, Liz Bourque-Theiler spoke about the urgent need for Holliston to adopt the ALS model of EMS services.

Ms. Theiler had a comprehensive list of references to the MRI report that she strongly supported – in some cases in conflict with earlier discussion.  The MRI report referenced a “culture of resistance in the department” that Theiler believes is accurate.  She expressed dismay that in our Town’s $65 million budget only $1.5 million goes to Fire/EMS.  She referred to the MRI report that stated Holliston has an “operational crisis.”  Ms. Theiler concluded by thanking the Board for commissioning the study / report and the level of attention the report’s findings are receiving.

Mr. Cronin responded to Ms. Theiler’s resistance to change comment – saying that “no one is more open to change than Chief Cassidy,” and that cultural change in an organization takes a very long time.

John Crean, also a firefighter, advocated that Holliston should have a full-time Fire / EMS department.  He concurred with Mr. Pierce’s opinion that more equipment should respond to calls as fires today grow so much faster with the flammable chemicals in so many products.  He concluded by saying, “we need to change.”

The Board authorized Mr. Ahern and Chief Cassidy to develop an ALS service model / costs prior to the Fall Town Meeting.

The Board authorized Mr. Ahern, Chief Cassidy, and ATA / HR Dir. Buckley to create an Assistant Chief Job Description / cost prior to the Fall Town Meeting.

Additional citizen comments may be sent regarding the NEAG project and / or Fire Department Organization Evaluation to: the Select Board at MuzzyD@holliston.k12.ma.us

Public Comment:

• Mrs. Hein: None (and later she noted that FinCom member Vin Murphy was still in the room at 9:30 after most everyone else had left)
• Mr. Cronin: Thanked the Holliston Lions for hosting the Carnival – a major fundraiser that supports the donations made by Deb Kerrigan on behalf of the Club last week
• Mr. Sparrell: 845 people have responded to the Envisioning Future Holliston Survey. It’s not too late to provide your input (especially high school and college students) -> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePacrGM71mj3T_y3Qzi5n4swnJS5y23OEpezjpJiYwF1bwZw/viewform

Warrants: The Board approved two warrants; $319,827.23 and $992,196.73

Comments from Town Administrator: Mr. Ahern provided the following to the Board:

• All bids received for the Blair Square project exceed the approved appropriation.  The bids were itemized such that the project can be divided up.  The bids have been sent to the Blair Square committee to determine the recommended course of action.
• The Town has received Complete Streets Tier III Award Announced – $399,694.  The Highway Department is developing a plan to make the needed improvements. https://hollistonreporter.com/2022/07/holliston-awarded-complete-streets-funding-program/
• The current proposed State budget has some additional dollars for Holliston.

Board Business: The Board took the following actions:

• Appointed Hayley Fetrow to Governance Committee, (term through June 30, 2024)
• Approved the event permit Holliston lacrosse Turkey Trot fund raiser, November 24, 2022, 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
• Accepted a $6,860.00 donation from the Friends of Holliston Trails, Inc. to Trails Committee Gift Account for a crossing beacon on Hopping Brook Road (remainder to be donated by Griffin Electric in August)
• Signed and post the Warrant for the 2022 State Primary September 6, 2022.

Other Business:

• Mrs. Hein asked for a future agenda item to explore Board / Public engagement ideas.
• Town Administrator Ahern: Still working to schedule joint FinCom / Select Board meeting, Tri-board (FinCom, SB, and School Comm), the Draft Code of Conduct discussed at the July 11, 2022, Board meeting has been sent out to all Board / Committees from the Town Clerk.

The meeting adjourned at 9:50pm.  Next meeting is August 1, 2022 – NO meeting next week.