[Christopher Bader]: Good, good. Why don't we have a look at the letter, the draft of the letter. I just took like an hour or so to write it, so I'm totally open to revisions. But let me bring it up here.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Oops. Where the heck is it?
[Christopher Bader]: Oh, here we go.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
[Christopher Bader]: Okay. Charlotte, did you and Fred have a chance to look at the letter?
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: When did the letter come, Chris? I'm not sure when I saw that one.
[Christopher Bader]: I just sent it out yesterday.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Oh, it's yesterday. I saw the minutes. Was it in with those minutes or?
[Christopher Bader]: I sent it as a separate email.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Oh, OK. I guess I've got to keep up on that. OK, now I see it. Let me download it here.
[Christopher Bader]: Anyway, let me share my screen so anybody who wants to can have a look at it. Great. Okay, here we go. Share screen.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Yes, desktop one. Are we talking about the letter to the homeowner? That's right. Yes, I've read that. Okay.
[Christopher Bader]: So, as I say, I only worked on this for an hour at the most. I'm totally open to suggestions, revisions, discarding it, whatever. It's not letting me share my screen. What the heck? Do you have it, Fred?
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: I do. I don't know if I can. Let me see if I can share it here. Yeah, that would be great.
[Theresa Dupont]: Just made your co-host, so she should be able to.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: All right. Thank you. I just got to figure out where the little button. Shooter screen. Okay.
[Christopher Bader]: It's at the bottom in the middle.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. All right. Is that shown? That's it. Okay.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Okay, I have it.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: All right, so it's very short. Let me just read it. Sure. Neighborhood is graced by over a dozen beautiful pre-Civil War homes, many of them built by wealthy merchants who prospered in Medford shipbuilding industry. Whether or not you own one of these homes, I hope you'll agree that they should be preserved in a historic district. Redford Historic District Commission and the Massachusetts Historical Commission have both unanimously, both voted unanimously to recommend creation of a South Street Historic District. The Historic District Commission cordially invites you to attend a public hearing on the South Street District on Thursday, October 12th, 6 p.m. at the Main City Council Chamber at City Hall. Hope to see you there. Yours respectfully, Chris Bader. Okay. Nice and short and sweet, Chris. I like it.
[Christopher Bader]: Yes. That was the goal. And I wanted to dwell on the theme of the... of the proposed historic district, that is, it's pre-Civil War, all but a few of the houses are pre-Civil War, and also tie into the shipbuilding industry. I also wanted to make clear that this letter is going out not just to people who own houses in the proposed district, but to anyone who lives within 300 feet of any of these houses.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
[Christopher Bader]: And the historic, the one little twist is the Mass Historical Commission met last night and I attended the meeting. And they also recommended unanimously to create a South Street Historic District. That is they recommended they, what was the exact wording? They recommended that the city of Medford create this district.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Was that unanimous?
[Christopher Bader]: It was unanimous.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Excellent.
[Christopher Bader]: And by the way, Jennifer Doherty, who is the head of local government programs, she's the new Chris Skelly. This is Honey Badger. Honey Badger, yeah. I gave you your dinner, yeah.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Is that our new member?
[Christopher Bader]: It's a new member, yes. We're kind of short a member, so I figure Honey Badger could finish it.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Well, do you have a way to, I mean, I think it's a good ladder. I wouldn't, hopefully we'll include our little trifold in this, is that? Oh, God, yes. Yes. Absolutely. Maybe just make some reference to please see the attached template. Yes. Yes.
[Christopher Bader]: No, I can do that. Absolutely.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: I would say in the third sentence paragraph, public hearing, and I would just reiterate, we're officially calling it the South Street Historic District, is that? Oh, okay. It's in the second sentence, but I think it should be in the third, just so it's clear that that's what we're talking about.
[Christopher Bader]: Oh, sure. Okay, yeah. I can add that, absolutely.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: And then I guess we've got to, you know, you're going to print paper copies of this as well?
[Christopher Bader]: Yes, I want to print them on nice, you know, heavyweight, letter paper and I want to print the trifold on something appropriate for a brochure. Not just paper, but the typical trifold, the typical very, I don't know what to call it, very light cardboard maybe that trifolds are usually printed on.
[Theresa Dupont]: Like a glossy cardstock?
[Christopher Bader]: Yes, exactly.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm sure, depending on where we get it printed, I mean, Staples has... I was going to go to Staples. Yeah, they'll know what to do if you tell them.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, I think I could just send them the PDFs and, you know, give them my credit card and I can just pick them up probably in a day.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I've done it a lot. They have an online yeah well i saw that pdf so it's right and hopefully they'll get it right yes yes the tri-folder printing on both sides it's got to be printed both side which means it has to be oriented the right way and then and then yeah we can fold it whatever but uh so it's got to be a very specific sort of um yeah i will look at what
[Christopher Bader]: Order. I'll call the people at Staples and say, you know, do the. Does it have to be. Like, what is the orientation of the two pages, presumably the orientation should be the same. Right.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but sometimes I mean, just when I'm printing at the office and stuff, I know.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah. Like if you're printing in landscape mode, sometimes the other page gets upside down or, you know.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: And it is landscape, so it is going to be tricky.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah. No, I will definitely attend to that issue. So is anything missing from this besides the word historic in the third paragraph? I think about mentioning the three houses that are not pre-Civil War, because they're really, you know, I don't want to put a footnote in a short letter.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: No, I don't think we would do that. But I think the only question would be whether we flesh out what our meeting, the public hearing is for, if you add a little. The public hearing allows, you know, whatever, feedback, and we could take some language out of the MHC guidelines of what the public hearing's for, just so somebody getting it would know that this is a, it's sort of a legally binding responsibility that we have to do, and that we're going to vote on it or whatever, or at least make comments on it.
[Christopher Bader]: So it's an opportunity for the public to- Is that something the recipient of this letter has to know? I can explain it at the meeting.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Well, I was saying, I wonder if we would have, I'd have to look at, maybe I could find that, the outline, New York district or whatever, which I know I have in my folder here somewhere.
[Christopher Bader]: I could refer to maybe the statutory. The public hearing required by statute.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so it's part of the. Sorry, I got to. I can't open up my.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, anyway, I don't think we really need it. You know, we can say the, or we can just say pursuant to Mass General Laws 40C. I think that would probably be enough.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, because we're on the way on this flowchart. Yeah. MHC within 14 days written notice to property owners. So we're do that and then we have to prepare the warrant article assuming we get through the public hearing. Okay. Yeah, it's up to you if you don't want to do that and that's fine. We can explain it at the meeting, but it is sort of illegal.
[Christopher Bader]: I would prefer to explain it at the meeting. But if you're more comfortable if you want to put it in the language. Pursuant to Mass General Laws 40C, blah, blah, blah, we will be holding a public meeting. I'm happy to do that.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Okay, yeah. I mean, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I don't think it's going to hurt it. I think it would make it more.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, make it more official sounding.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Like it's an official hearing.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, yeah.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Other than that, and then attach the by full brochure and a reference to it in the letter. Yeah. So I don't know, Chris, if you've got an email or rather a text or a cell phone for Joe that we could text him and ask him to get on the call. I assume- Let me see. I'm assuming Chris Donovan is no longer interested.
[Christopher Bader]: I don't know what the story is with him.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, he hasn't been I could text him. I have his phone number, but yes.
[Christopher Bader]: If you could just ask him to pop in for five minutes. We would appreciate it. Let's see if I have Joe. I don't think I do. Just a minute. Let me check my email here. So can you text Chris and I will look at look for Joe's number.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: What's quorum? Is that what it is? Quorum?
[Christopher Bader]: Quorum, yes. Q-U-O-R-U-M.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: All right. I'll just send him a text.
[Christopher Bader]: Oh, wait. He just replied. Oh, tonight? Yeah. Joe is not going to be able to make it. I'll try to make it to the meeting after I leave the Brooks. Oh, he's going to something for his kids. Yeah. All right. So that's that's probably not going to happen. Yeah, let's see if we can get Chris Donovan just for.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Well, I don't know, I think he got a little. A change of heart after joining our commission, I guess, I don't know.
[Christopher Bader]: I think so. Do you have his number?
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: I have Chris's, uh, yeah, I just sent him this text. I have his number here. I don't necessarily want to call him though.
[Christopher Bader]: No, no, but just text him and say, and ask him if he can spare us five minutes.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, no, I, I did that. So, oh, no response. Not yet. Let's just sit in the waiting room somewhere.
[Christopher Bader]: Well, It may be that just having the minutes created, Ryan's not going to be happy that the minutes are not approved.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: No, he wants that. We got three of us on the call. We need four for a quorum.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, we need four for a quorum. Melanie is out of town. I honestly don't know why she couldn't, you know, dial in, but, but, um, she doesn't like to do that when she's traveling on business.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. So, um, well, otherwise, I mean, we can try to pull a quick meeting with, uh, meet for a few minutes, uh, I mean, with Joe rather when he's done with everything. Yeah.
[Christopher Bader]: Um, why don't we try. Are you guys available tomorrow night for a few minutes?
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm available. Charlotte?
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: I think at what time? Around the same, six o'clock?
[Christopher Bader]: Six o'clock, yeah.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that should work for me.
[Christopher Bader]: Okay, I'll just ping Joe and say, hey, can you make it to a five-minute meeting tomorrow evening? Because I think we all have things to do tonight.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: I can, well, whatever, depending on what time Joe comes on here. So Chris, I guess the question I had was on these meetings. Let me just see.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, yeah. If you want to bring up the minutes and any corrections or changes of format or whatever. Pardon me, I'm still in the grip of COVID, sort of COVID light, you might say, because I had my booster only a couple of weeks before I got it. Oh, my, really? Yeah.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: Well, it doesn't make me feel good about getting the booster, though.
[Christopher Bader]: It is not surprising. It doesn't keep you from getting it. it keeps you from getting really sick. Maybe there's some value in preventing it, but I don't think that's its main purpose. I could be wrong. All right.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: I haven't trouble bringing this thing up and everything, Chris, so all right.
[Christopher Bader]: Okay. Yeah, let's try to meet tomorrow night at six. And I will ping and I will let you know, you guys know in advance. We'll just meet for a couple of minutes to say aye or whatever.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. I'll just look at it.
[Christopher Bader]: I think any send me send me any corrections, Fred, or, you know, comments on format, or this is the first time I've done this.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Well, that's why I'm Chris Donovan. Now he was he voted him to be secretary.
[Christopher Bader]: I know he did. He did exactly once. As far as I can determine, he did the minutes exactly once. Yeah, that was for the meeting in which he was elected.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. So we're in a bit of a jam there. So yeah.
[Christopher Bader]: All right, all right.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Teresa, are you helping us with the meeting? Oh, right.
[Christopher Bader]: Yes, yes, Teresa. Are you available tomorrow evening for a few minutes?
[Theresa Dupont]: I'm not 100% sure of my plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure between Dennis and I, one of us can hang out with you lovely folks for 15, 20 minutes tomorrow.
[Christopher Bader]: It's not gonna be 15 minutes. It'll be five minutes.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Okay. But is there something you're able to do for us on behalf of the lovely city that you can do meeting minutes?
[Theresa Dupont]: Do meeting minutes? Oh, gosh, no. I'd be happy to help.
[Christopher Bader]: Here's the back story, Teresa. Just so this doesn't come as a surprise. We've had trouble. Our ostensible secretary, Chris Donovan, is missing in action. I asked the mayor maybe six, nine months ago if we could get some support from City Hall. Of course, you'd be reimbursed for your time, but a lot of towns and cities have executive secretaries. It just means a person like you or Dennis attends the meeting, actually does the minutes and posts them to the website. And your department, there's stuff in our budget for this. And presumably, you would actually get a piece of that. I don't know. But I mean, that's up to Alicia. But anyway, just so that's not a surprise to you, that's something that's coming.
[Theresa Dupont]: Certainly. And my role has changed in City Hall, so I'm not a QA. Oh, it has. Yes, I'm then a CPA manager. Community Preservation Act, so I'm a grant funder.
[Christopher Bader]: Okay, so you're on top of the whole thing that Ryan has got his tail in and out about. He, he, he, don't say I said that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have no idea what you're talking about. Yes, Ryan and I talk daily.
[Christopher Bader]: It basically we need for some kind of compliance situation, we need minutes for every meeting that we approved any certificates. And that's been going by the wayside. And what I did in the past few days is just watch the meetings. I figured out what meetings we actually issued certificates, and I watched them over on the video. And then I wrote down the minutes, which I sent out to Fred and Charlotte and company. And I was hoping to approve them tonight, but that apparently is not going to happen. So let's meet tomorrow for a few minutes. I want to make sure that Joe is available. If not, I will cancel and reschedule for some time where everybody can do it.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: Great. I'm sure there's some deadline that.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah, I'm sure there is.
[MCM00001302_SPEAKER_02]: And when we talked to Ryan, whatever, last meeting of the week before, he was going to request some administrative help from City Hall. So that's Theresa. You're a new face here. I thought that was you had been in Shanghai.
[Christopher Bader]: Yeah. Or the press gang. That's what they used to call it.
[Theresa Dupont]: There you go.
[Christopher Bader]: You know what a press gang is, Theresa?
[Theresa Dupont]: I do. I do. And yes, I've definitely felt that some days. Now, in terms of, yeah, we're just realizing, you know, your commission and the historical commission, you just keep doing bigger and better things, which is exactly what the commissions were put in place to do. So with that, I agree wholeheartedly, having more administrative help would be beneficial. whether or not we can budget it's another thing, but you know I am an advocate for it.
[Christopher Bader]: Supposedly there's $1,500 in the budget for administrative support from whatever your department is called now.
[Theresa Dupont]: PDF. Okay, I'm pretty sure that I did see some sort of a budget line item there.
[Christopher Bader]: 1,500 doesn't really... I know, that's not a lot, but I think we can probably carve out more because we're not going to spend the whole... We have 5,000 for special projects, so we can probably divert some of that to the admin support budget.
[Theresa Dupont]: Okay. Well, let me let me connect with Alicia. Alicia Hunt is my boss, even in this new role. I'll try to see what I can do to influence getting that. I just did the math that does equate out to the typical staff stipend for a monthly support budgeted for them. We just need to find somebody who wants to do so. Yes.
[Christopher Bader]: All right. OK. OK. I'll see you guys tomorrow night if possible. That is if Joe can make it. Otherwise, we'll meet some other night.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: OK. Right. We're meeting you. Thank you guys. A message of who we are not meeting. Correct.
[Christopher Bader]: Absolutely. Absolutely.
[MCM00001798_SPEAKER_03]: OK. Can you throw me down on that one, Chris?
[Christopher Bader]: Yes, I can.