[Roberta Cameron]: Thank you very much, Teresa, for all of your technical support. I am calling to order the meeting of Medford's Community Preservation Committee on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 6.30 p.m. in room 201 of Medford City Hall and via Zoom. We are meeting hybridly. And the meeting will be recorded and be available for anyone who is not able to be here in person as soon as possible after the fact. So I will start off with a, going by the agenda, a review of an off-cycle grant application for Medford Public Schools Bicycle Infrastructure Enhancements. So who is going to give us a presentation of this grant application?
[Peter Cushing]: Dr. Cushman, by the way. Hello, how is everyone? Doing well. Awesome, so thank you very much for considering this off cycle grant application. Our 1st, want to just say thank you to the CPC for all of the support you've given to the men for public schools over the past couple of years. In particular, the McGlynn playground, which is turning out nicely and I think is on the agenda later on this evening. Um, so this is really, um, a long time coming bicycle infrastructure upgrades. We at the Met for public schools have some really old style. Um. We have some really old-style bike racks, and we have absolutely no bicycle repair kiosks, I'll call them, anywhere within the Medford Public Schools. So I'm proposing that we will, first of all, install modern bicycle racks at the McGlynn and Medford High School. We have recently done this with the help of a grant.
[Roberta Cameron]: Oh, no. It's frozen.
[Peter Cushing]: Sorry.
[Roberta Cameron]: You're back now. All right, sorry.
[Peter Cushing]: So we've installed bike racks, new updated bike racks at the Andrews Middle School, and this grant application is to make sure that these are installed at Medford High School, as well as installing bicycle pumps and repair stations at Medford High School, the Andrews Middle School, and the McGlynn Complex. And with the Clippership Connector coming online, we really want to encourage cycling to school. We want to try to reduce our reliance on students taking the buses as much as possible and thereby hopefully reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.
[Theresa Dupont]: Thank you very much. Are there questions, comments from committee members?
[SPEAKER_08]: I have a question.
[Joan Cyr]: So normally we only accept the off-cycle applications for reasons that say that we need the funding now because of some other outward stressor. So whether it's some other grant funding that we're getting with it, that you have to do it by X date or something like that. So while I understand that you said you wanna encourage for the students to come to school on bikes, I'm wondering what is the timeline on this installation and why is it off cycle?
[Peter Cushing]: So it is off cycle because the timeline would be to install them for the start of school next year.
[Joan Cyr]: Next year or next school year? Next school year. So September of 2024.
[Peter Cushing]: Sorry, we in school talk when we say next year. We always mean like, you know, it could be September, we might say, God, I hope next year is better. So, you know, the, but the reality is we want to get them installed for August, September, so that they are there right at the start and in the good weather. uh and then students hopefully will see uh the bicycle repair kiosks and they'll be more encouraged to be like oh if i have a problem i'll be able to address it if my tire is flat there'll be a pump there um those types of um considerations have been the other uh what is the timeline do you know what the timeline is for this i know you said by august so is it a two month is it a three month is it a We expect about 8 weeks for product to be delivered and then installed at the schools at the McGlynn. I'd hopefully get the product in in time so that the work construction would be able to install it while they're still on site with the McGlynn playground. And then our own maintenance personnel would install the others across the district. And while this is a cycle, Why this is off cycle is we had really hoped to do this in-house with our metal fab shop, bike racks themselves. But the reality is that we have another safety issue as far as students waiting for the buses up along the West courtyard of the high school. So the resources of the metal fab shop have been diverted to build almost amusement park kiosks slash line barriers for students to be able to filter in because they tend to press up against the curbs as buses approach. And when you have several hundred students out there, it's a safety concern. So we've diverted our concerns there. The other reason why I'm applying off-cycle, quite honestly, is our budget does not allow us to really do things like this. If I'm going to be honest, we right now have several capital projects that really need our attention from HVAC repairs, a water boiler that recently went. And these, I would say, investments in what we hope to do and what we hope to encourage are sometimes delayed by our aging facilities.
[Doug Carr]: Reporter, I have a question.
[Roberta Cameron]: So that you know, those of us who are in City Hall are having a difficult time because the wireless is stopping and starting. So we're hearing about 80% of what everyone is saying.
[Doug Carr]: Okay, because my video for Mr. Cushing did not go in and out. It must be there. Okay, well, we can just do our best. If you need to repeat the text or the question, that's fine. Look, obviously, this is a great idea. I want as many students as possible to ride to school. has the will and frankly the courage because it's still challenging to ride anywhere in a bike, even with the increased bike pass over the years. My only question was really one of the planning that's gone into this because there's no diagrams that show exactly where these go on the site. how many they are, the numbers there, the quantities. But in terms of clearances, other things, it's always a concern when I don't even really know where they are. They're obviously near the entrances of all these schools, but there's more than one entrance to a few of these schools, obviously. It'd just be nice to have a diagram It wouldn't prevent me from voting for this, but at least understand where they are so that we know the dildo and this has been done about ADA clearances, making sure that there's still a three-foot sidewalk on each side of it for passengers, for anyone in a wheelchair. Those like ADA 101 accessibility things, which I know you're aware of Mr. Cushing, but it's just a question I have. It's more of a follow-up than it is a requirement for this voting.
[Peter Cushing]: Well, and what I would do is I'd work with Francis Nwaje, who has been extraordinarily helpful with the revamping of parking that has gone on at Medford High School. If you haven't been up to Medford High School in a while, over the April vacation, we replaced all of the loop parking, as we call it, at the main entrance. So my parking space and other senior leadership spaces, we remove them. And we made, we went from having two ADA accessible parking spaces to having seven. And then we made the other, I think it was eight or nine spaces. I think it was nine spaces. We made them nine. I'm sorry, we made them eight um pull in as opposed to angle the angle when you're backing out there and people don't slow down coming down the hill from the cte side uh you take your life into your own hands um so we made those so they're more perpendicular parking as opposed to angle and made them all visitor we also just so everyone's aware made a reserve space for veteran parking as well there Not germane to this, but basically to say, I'm happy to work with Todd Evans, Owen, and Francis Novalje to make sure that these are properly sited. We were going to simply replace them where the existing ones were and dispose of the existing structures.
[Doug Carr]: Do you have a cut of what the design of this is? There's obviously a wide variety of designs of these type of things.
[Peter Cushing]: Uh, if you give me 1 2nd, I can definitely pull it up. Okay, thank you.
[MCM00001830_SPEAKER_05]: No, while he's doing that, Roberta, can you remind me again? What are. Regular funding cycle is like, when the applications are due and when we award.
[Roberta Cameron]: Yes, actually, I'll defer to Teresa for what the specific deadlines are. But typically, we're receiving applications, I think, in September, and deliberating from October through December. And then we're sending those award, those recommendations to City Council typically in January and February. That's correct.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah, our application round goes open July 9th this year for a seven-week application period. Thank you. Of course. It's a good question. Yes.
[Reggie Graham]: I was just wondering, Dr. Cushing, could you explain to me what a bicycle repair kiosk is? Absolutely. I can show you right now. Well, the other part of my question is, who's going to maintain it?
[Peter Cushing]: So generally speaking, they should be maintenance free, save any vandalism. And that would be our maintenance team and our school principals to be able to make sure that they are not being damaged. We would also place them in an area where they would be on a camera so that vandalism would hopefully be deterred. So, this is the bike repair station that I have submitted. It's cost effective. It comes with a stainless steel bicycle pump with a meter on it to know your pressure and then a number of bicycle tools on heavy duty. Cables so that you can repair your bike and then you also. Getting a sales pitch there and then these right here are stanchions that you can lift your bike up on and hang it up on the frame. So you can work on it. And then the bike racks just so let me get to them real quick. These are the ones that we are looking to install. And I think I selected the blue for school colors. But yeah. So these, any one of these gives you a good sense. I believe the ones I selected were in the $198 range and they direct bolt to the ground. You can direct bolt them to a frame, but it's really not necessary if you're direct bolting to the ground. Uh, we were, we are installing at the McGlynn this bollard style. Um, but we've had some luck with the U as well. And you can see how the cost can really skyrocket on some of these.
[Doug Carr]: Yeah, some of the creative ones are very pricey. I know you have a tight budget here, so I appreciate that. The blue color makes sense to me. Okay, that's all the questions I have. Thank you. Thank you.
[Roberta Cameron]: What will be the capacity? How many bicycles will be able to park?
[Peter Cushing]: I'm sorry, say that again.
[Roberta Cameron]: What will be the capacity? How many bicycles will be able to park?
[Peter Cushing]: Between 20 and 30 based on the number of racks I've submitted at each location.
[Theresa Dupont]: Between 20 and 30, sorry.
[Peter Cushing]: Yes, between 20 and 30 at Medford High School up to 40, 45 actually, because I doubled the number in the request for Medford High School.
[Theresa Dupont]: Thank you.
[Roberta Cameron]: And can you remind us, or are you able, Teresa, to show the budget for this project and the amount of funding that is currently available? Yes. I can pull up the budget for this.
[Theresa Dupont]: I apologize about the internet issues we're having here. It's the first time it's happened. Yeah. But, you know.
[Joan Cyr]: You're competing with a popular meeting next door, so.
[Theresa Dupont]: I honestly think that is, we're a fair amount of people charging into here right now. Why can't I rotate this? While I'm wrestling with this, our available balance, actually, right now, this is not considering any fiscal 25 monies. We have about $112,000 available to us. Some of you may say, well, Teresa, didn't you say recently that we had about $100,000? I've been able to claw some money back from projects that didn't go forward or finished under budget or what have you. So we have $112,000 available to us right now.
[Peter Cushing]: I'm always happy to help spend anything you guys have extra.
[Theresa Dupont]: Well, I think we can always count on you.
[Reggie Graham]: You're looking for $20,000, right?
[Peter Cushing]: I think with contingencies, I think I submitted it for $20,000, but the actual hard dollars came out in the $17,000 range. I don't have it in front of me right now. And the reason why I submitted the $20,000 overall was just you know, factoring in for contingencies and whatever else I need to push back. I also apologize for the handwriting on this. It was, it was doing some funky stuff where whenever I typed in one thing, it replaced everything else with the thing I just typed in. So I apologize.
[Theresa Dupont]: I didn't mind. Yeah, it was on the wrong screen.
[Chenine Peloquin]: He's saying as a budget problem on auto bill, everything from the first line to go do backpacks all the way down.
[Theresa Dupont]: Okay. So, yeah.
[Peter Cushing]: Shipping is, it's the bane of my existence. I'm not going to lie. In previous incantations as a school principal, I would sometimes drive to locations working for a poor district to pick things up because the shipping was insane. I agree. It's out of control.
[Theresa Dupont]: What can you do?
[Peter Cushing]: Yep.
[Theresa Dupont]: So you want to go on a road trip and pick these up in South Carolina or wherever they're from?
[Joan Cyr]: Right. Yeah. Teresa, when's the Clippership Connector going to be finished? That's an excellent question.
[Theresa Dupont]: I thought so. I thought you know everything, Teresa. I have heard that they are ahead of schedule. I don't know what that means, though. I don't know what the end date was, but their progress has been switched.
[Roberta Cameron]: Is there further discussion from the committee on this request? Would anyone like to make a motion regarding this proposal?
[Joan Cyr]: Is there anyone from the public who wanted to speak on it? Come on, Janine, you know you want to. I move that we take the proposal and add $20,000 for public schools.
[Reggie Graham]: of the bike project.
[Roberta Cameron]: So Reg moves to recommend funding $20,000 for this project. Is there someone who'd like to second that motion? Second. All right. Thank you. And so I will call the roll for those who would like to recommend funding. Doug?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Joan?
[Theresa Dupont]: Yes. No. Joan, you froze. If you can hear us, we'll have to have you repeat it. I said yes. Thank you.
[Roberta Cameron]: This is the most frustrating.
[Unidentified]: I heard her say yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Thank you. Craig?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Ari? Yes. I saw Kaylene. Yes. And myself, yes. I think that was all of us. I believe it was, yes.
[Theresa Dupont]: I'll make that soon.
[Peter Cushing]: I really want to thank you again. Your support is going to help. When you see the finished product at McGlynn, your support is going to transform the experience of our students' lives. There's no doubt about it. So thank you.
[Doug Carr]: And if they use all of them up, come back for more. I know you have room to put more than that for you. So, so Teresa, just a reminder when the, when this is written up for the council, just make sure that the conditions in there about, uh, for record plan and not kind of the, the type, the, you know, all the pieces in there is just there for the record. So the public will have access to that.
[Unidentified]: Certainly.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah. I'm just going to try to switch my wifi. I think it might stay on, but I apologize in advance. If we get booted, folks can just go back into the link, because this is tough right now. So hopefully it just doesn't boot us. Peter's not on the phone, so maybe we won't get booted. Yeah, I signed in on my phone, too, actually. It's a good point. Thank you.
[Peter Cushing]: I would also love to know how you guys set up that four screen. It's going to cost you.
[Joan Cyr]: I'm going to move on to the next item on the agenda.
[Roberta Cameron]: And that is a small grant applications. We have two small grant applications for basketball hoop play elements at the Roberts School and for a gaga ball pit at McGlynn School. So who would like to speak to us about this? I'm Teresa by the way. Nice to meet you.
[Joan Cyr]: So I mean, you're bringing in the professionals.
[Chenine Peloquin]: What is this? This professional is here and is incredibly brave tonight because his partners in crime are all in the baseball championship tonight. All three of the other kids could not skip their game tonight because it's the final. So they're very sad to not be here. I guess I actually have to look here to look at all of you. But so I'm here. as me and you all know me, but I'm also here as a member of the PTO with the Roberts. But I'm going to actually let John, he's prepared some remarks. So he's going to start. And then you want to say your name too.
[SPEAKER_06]: Your first and last. During class one day, some of my classmates and I decided we wanted to bring the idea of getting a basketball hoop to the principal. When we brought it to Ms. Bowles' attention, she was in favor of our request. The Roberts Elementary School does not currently have any structured playground equipment for the older children in attendance. A basketball hoop would fit in the existing playground area. The basketball hoop would help with hand-eye coordination, as well as exercise and team building skills. Currently, the older kids are playing unorganized games around the playground. Most of our fourth grade classmates have an interest in having a basketball hoop as well. It would be a cost-effective addition to the existing playground for older Robert's students.
[Theresa Dupont]: Nice. Thank you. Thank you very much. That was very compelling. Awesome.
[Chenine Peloquin]: So we did get a couple of different quotes and we need to, basically it looked like about 3,000 for the materials and about 2,000 for the installation. I mentioned on the application that we do have an existing application in with the community funds through the mayor's office. And we have not heard back on that. That proposal included the basketball hoop and a gaga ball pit. So we are happy to partner with those two organizations to get this project funded in whatever way best serves the needs of the community. The Gaga football pit is about, is just under 5,000 as well, and will be the same inclusive model within the plan. And we need to make final determination as a team, right, about whether or not it's going to be a double rim or a single rim. is a single rim has better playing, but a double rim is more durable. And so the kids and I have actually been going back and forth with students. I have been going back and forth about kind of the trade-offs, the pros and cons of each of those models and what that would cost and whether or not safety padding outside is the best plan to make sure students are safe, but also is it durable outside? So there's a couple of kind of final proposal questions we have. that if awarded funding, we'll be able to answer pretty quickly with our current rep. Thank you.
[Roberta Cameron]: Thank you both. Are there questions or comments from committee members? Yes, French.
[Reggie Graham]: I hate to say this, but I don't know what a gaga mom is.
[Joan Cyr]: Me neither. I think it has something to do with Lady Gaga.
[Chenine Peloquin]: No. I think Mr. O'Brien might have the website pulled up for his presentation.
[Theresa Dupont]: I've just made you a co-host, Mr. O'Brien, if you were ready. We're not putting you on the spot.
[Andrew O'Brien]: No, no. Sorry. I do have it on my phone.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Oh, OK.
[Andrew O'Brien]: OK.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Wait a minute. It was also, I think I made sure I attached. So in the attachments, there should be a picture. But gonga ball is a more inclusive dodgeball game. So it's played in a pit with like 30-inch high walls. And the rules are that you have to hit it with an open hand. and it has to hit players below the knee in order to count. And the models that we have actually have an ADA gate, so the students who have mobility devices can get in and out easily, but otherwise you kind of, there's the 30 inch high wall, but then there's kind of a cutout so kids can hop in and out easily. And it's a really fast moving game that keeps people moving more quickly in and out than Standard dodge ball, it's often the two really good players end up last all the time while everybody sits out until they're done. And this actually keeps things moving more equally and quickly. How big are they? Depending on the model, they're either, I think, let's see, 288 square feet. So they're like, I know. So it's like a hexagon with either eight foot walls or 10 foot walls, depending on, yeah.
[Joan Cyr]: Is it in the application?
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah, it's in the application materials. Everybody has the Dropbox open. Or if somebody wants to pull up Coach Kiah's Gaga Balls. Dr. Pushing, do you think you could pull that up really quickly?
[Joan Cyr]: I got it. If you want to give it to me, I can share the application pictures. Here we go. All right, there we go.
[Theresa Dupont]: Thank you, yeah.
[Peter Cushing]: Peter was sharing. I do have it. I have it.
[Chenine Peloquin]: This is what we've included in the application. So there's the gate. We've chosen models for both schools. So I guess this is getting a little into the McGlynn's proposal as well. But with composite boards to make the maintenance very low, so we don't have to worry about splintering or refinishing or anything. Yeah. And it's a high-demand item. Kevin has a portable one that he uses for certain events, but he gets requests for this a lot in the parks, and they're kind of popping up all over the public parks. The ADA gate would also have a coded lock, so it could be used by people who needed it, but it won't become a hazard with swinging. And we're working with the Disability Commission to figure out how we get immunity access to that coded block in an efficient way without having that code be super public. The teachers would, of course, all have it.
[Joan Cyr]: Or be something like 1, 2, 3, 4, right?
[Chenine Peloquin]: Maybe like the last four of the school's phone number or something like that.
[Doug Carr]: It'll be written on a Sharpie on the side of it probably.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Along with all the other things the students write in Sharpie on things like this. Go ahead.
[Reggie Graham]: So, Shane, you know, where is the debate coming for single versus double rims? Is that your perception versus the kids?
[Chenine Peloquin]: So I spoke with Ugo and in the Parks Department and the Parks Department prefers double rims because they're more durable.
[Reggie Graham]: Do they? Yes. None of them play basketball.
[SPEAKER_12]: The students are saying, so why do you say why you like single rims better?
[SPEAKER_06]: Because they're easier to shoot on, because they're single rim. It can roll around the rim. But a double rim, it has to go right through most of the time. All right.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Yeah, so there's less room for error on a double. Is it more bouncy too?
[Reggie Graham]: I don't know. I've never been an advocate for double rims. We've had single rims in the city for A few decades.
[SPEAKER_12]: And you're an experienced player with them.
[Reggie Graham]: And I think that the kids deserve a single rim. I don't think that they bend or they deteriorate any faster than a double rim.
[Joan Cyr]: Are these rims being installed at the middle school? So this is at the Roberts.
[Chenine Peloquin]: It would be a new post. So we identified a space. One of the landscape architects that lives in the neighborhood and is helping on Park Park, she came in and kind of helped us cite it and give us some specifications for one, which was wonderful. And the, let's see, south side of the building where the kindergartners come out, There's a big brick wall with no windows. There are a couple of trees there, but there's room for the hoop to go between and kind of in front of them. We've spoken with the fire department about preserving the fire lane, but it would be installed. Oh, that's right. John has a mask.
[Joan Cyr]: The reason I'm asking is because if this is going into a place where it'll be played by littler people and the double rims are really because the big guys hang off of them when they dunk. I don't expect that's going to be happening a lot at the middle school. I would say single rim it. You know what I'm saying? That's what they want.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Even smaller because it's the elementary school. Now I'm doing this backwards. So this is Park Street, this is Court Street, and here's the house going toward Salem. There's this little door here that comes out, and the playground is here. So the hoop would be situated here, pointing toward just a big brick wall. We do have to maintain the 20-foot fire lane here, but that's where the best siding was and the most cost-efficient because we didn't have to break up any concrete. And I know that this committee values being able to have more permanent installations of both of these. Eventually, when it comes time for the Robert schoolyard to be redone, we can reinstall this hoop and the gaga ball pit. It's not easy to uninstall, so it won't walk away, but it can be reinstalled at the new playground. Not that the gaga ball pit is the subject tonight, but of this particular.
[Roberta Cameron]: Great. Thank you. Any other comments or questions from committee members?
[Joan Cyr]: No comment except to say I appreciate your coming tonight and making this application in person. That means a lot because you're the folks that are going to use it. And we'd like to hear from the people that are going to use it. So thanks for coming. Nice job. I have a work dodgeball game next week. Do you have any recommendations or advice for me? Talking to you. I'm a little older than you.
[Unidentified]: Not as mature though.
[Joan Cyr]: Yeah, that's true. No questions. All right.
[Chenine Peloquin]: And then just to be specific, the money would be given to the PTO, and then the PTO is going to give the money to the schools. And John McLaughlin and I will go manage the project.
[Roberta Cameron]: OK. My only question is, how hard are you finding that you need to push back on the single RIM versus double RIM?
[Chenine Peloquin]: I don't think hard. OK. I think that, you know, I called and said, do you have a preference as I was trying to get orders? And then when the students and I were talking about, they were like, ah, double rim. So it's under discussion. So I don't think it's, I don't think it's a hard push. And maybe if the single room is less expensive, maybe we, in anticipation of needing to replace it at some point, we buy two if we have the funding for it, so that it's already there and ready to replace.
[Roberta Cameron]: Because my only question was whether it would be helpful if we specifically recommended funding for a single-room basketball hoop. If that would aid the conversation.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Well, actually, why don't you do that so that it's not a question. And then, do you want to, will you share the idea that we have for a sign? Because we were, one of the first idea was to have a hoop that they could dunk on. But then we talked about that that would, on the weekends, become something that was not durable. And so we've been discussing how high, how high are you thinking you want the hoop right now?
[SPEAKER_06]: Like an eight and a half or nine.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Okay. And then what about the sign that we've been talking about?
[SPEAKER_06]: Um, it would say like, please don't don't.
[Joan Cyr]: Love it.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Yeah, basically that like it would be the acknowledgement sign for the funding source for the CPC or CPA. and also say like, this hoop was kid's idea, please don't donk on it and be careful with it.
[Theresa Dupont]: I like that.
[Reggie Graham]: Is that your idea? What happens when the little kids get to be big enough to donk?
[Theresa Dupont]: They go to the other court. They go to car park.
[Reggie Graham]: Oh my goodness. So we did talk about how if people, if older,
[Chenine Peloquin]: kids and grownups want to play a game, they're going to walk down the street to Hickey Park. But this is kind of a quieter place where maybe if someone is overwhelmed by the big courts that they might like a quiet place to shoot around and also be highly used during the school week.
[Roberta Cameron]: Nice. All right. Does somebody want to make a motion related to this request?
[Joan Cyr]: I'll make a motion to approve the purchase of basketball hoop for the Roberts. sure.
[Roberta Cameron]: All right. And that's with a condition that the that the single. Yep.
[Theresa Dupont]: And if I may, I might also recommend, you said that this application was being considered by the community fund as well. So should they fund the application? We might want to scale back our award or, because I'm not sure if you're going to fund it in full or partially.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Right, and we're not clear. And so whatever, both groups, yeah, like the best uses of money. So this, whichever needs to happen is fine. Okay.
[Roberta Cameron]: Yeah, I think, um, I don't know if we need to say anything special about having the community fund money spend first and then the CPA funds.
[Reggie Graham]: Um, that's the idea. Okay. But they haven't, they haven't heard anything back yet from them.
[Theresa Dupont]: Actually, even as early as tomorrow. Yeah.
[Roberta Cameron]: My understanding is a press release is on there. Okay. All right. And it's a $5,000 grant that we're recommending for the Roberts.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Okay. There was an $11,000 proposal to the community fund. But I'm not sure we'll get it. I mean, we did say on that that we would be willing to take partial because wanted to make sure that this project got done. And then Gaga Valley is a bonus because reset that the Roberts is is quite something right now. So they could really use additional options that that take the stress off of some of the kind of unstructured spaces. Right?
[Roberta Cameron]: Right. Well, I need to call the roll. We've already got a motion seconded. So Doug?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Joe? Yes. Ari? Yes. Kaylene? Yes. And we've lost Craig, he had to leave early this evening. And myself, yes. And Fredge, yes. Yes. All right, motion passes. Congratulations.
[Reggie Graham]: You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money.
[Theresa Dupont]: You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money.
[Chenine Peloquin]: You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money. You did a good job to convince me to spend the money.
[Theresa Dupont]: So we did.
[Chenine Peloquin]: He wrote that paragraph by himself at home, like in preparation for this meeting. It's not at school, it's at home, so I can't show you right now, but I've been working on it. That is so on point. The four of them prepared with me in the hallway today, like we couldn't get into our room, so we all We sat in the hallway at the Roberts and the other students told him what was really important to say tonight and kind of reviewed the proposal. And we're going to go back and make sure we get the specs. And I'd like maybe Igor and John to come down and talk with them about how we're going to order it and that kind of thing. I'll call the rep while we're together. But I'm not sure how much time we have since it's the end of the year. I figure out the timing as well.
[Joan Cyr]: But I see another front page article on the globe in a couple of years, another valedictorian.
[Theresa Dupont]: So, you know.
[Joan Cyr]: And those are Mr. O'Brien's former students, so. Here you go.
[SPEAKER_12]: All right.
[Joan Cyr]: On to the Gaga pit.
[Roberta Cameron]: Yeah. McLean School Gaga pit.
[Andrew O'Brien]: Yes, thank you for having us tonight and for accepting our application. Shanine pretty much has sold it already, but we're looking for funds to buy the equipment and the delivery for a gaga pit that is. accessible for all students. I think one of the most attractive parts to it is the door that's going to make it accessible for all of our students that are in wheelchairs and that need an opportunity to participate and play in a really enjoyable and fun game. I just happen to be sitting in my office and I see this. This is a ball that says second place Gaga pit. for my dog, Olivia O'Brien, when she played at the Brooks in third grade. And she's in eighth grade right now. So the fact that this ball hasn't been thrown away means that she really, really enjoyed it. And so I'm hoping that this guy gives joy to all the students at the McGlynn as much as my daughter enjoyed it. So we are asking for funds, again, to buy the equipment and delivery, and we are going to install it. It's going to be a community event. We have a parent volunteer, Mr. Richard, who is in construction and is going to lead us as we construct a Gaga pit for the McGlynn Inclusive Playground.
[Joan Cyr]: We'll see what questions I have. So where is it proposed to be installed exactly?
[Andrew O'Brien]: So unfortunately, I don't have a map of the inclusive playground, but there is a space that has been dedicated for it. Dr. Cushing has it right there.
[Chenine Peloquin]: All those little dots are supposed to be people, those random black dots walking in pairs.
[Roberta Cameron]: permanently planted in the background. Like Davis Square.
[Chenine Peloquin]: And some of the additional inclusive features of this are that, so we've got the, we've specced out the composite boards. as well as wall top covers that are yellow, which adds to the visual accessibility of the playground. And that's a consistent strategy throughout the playground of having yellow edges of things that you need to watch out for against a high contrast surface. So for kids with visual impairments, there are many students at the McGlynn that have visual impairments. They can see it and not run into it. And then it also is color coordinated with the rest of the playground.
[Roberta Cameron]: Thank you. Are there any questions or comments from committee members about this request?
[Joan Cyr]: So it's only a partial request from CPA, and the difference is coming from someplace else?
[Chenine Peloquin]: The difference is the in-kind contribution of the Motlin community to construct, because if we had Cork do it as part of the playground, it would cost us $3,000 additional. Gotcha.
[Unidentified]: Got it.
[Theresa Dupont]: Okay. I have a budget sheet up. John, would that be helpful? I'm looking at it now.
[Roberta Cameron]: I suggest it would probably be helpful to just round up to 5000. Yeah, yeah. Would anyone like to make a motion related to this proposal?
[Joan Cyr]: I can make a motion to approve the Gaga ball pit application at McLean School.
[Doug Carr]: Second.
[Roberta Cameron]: Great. Then I will call the roll. Kaylene? Yes. Ari? Yes. Doug?
[Doug Carr]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Joan? Yes. Reg? Yes. And myself, yes. Thank you.
[Joan Cyr]: I love working with y'all. Do we get to play? Do we get to play? I just want to know.
[Peter Cushing]: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think we should mandate it.
[Chenine Peloquin]: I think so. There's going to be like a CTC night at the McGlynn Playground.
[Doug Carr]: Oh, yeah. I think the winner gets a grant and the loser doesn't next time.
[Peter Cushing]: And I'm coming in with balls branded Curtis Tufts High School, so you know what my next ask is.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yes, boy. All right, well, thank you to all of you from the school. Next was a brief update, Marcia. I have a Glenn School play. Wait, do you have to hang on here to do an update?
[Peter Cushing]: No, no, I was waving to my daughter who just said, love you and good night. I think it was caught on film, so I'm going to save that for when she's. Timestamp at 718. All right, if I could share my screen again, which I know I'm still able to too bad Andrew, Andy dropped off. But if I can share my screen for the presentation that Shanine worked diligently on, and I simply modified to add a few minor details, but really want to give credit to Shanine. So. Am I okay to take it away? So they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in reality the pictures do not do this project justice. A few weeks ago while waiting to take someone on a tour of the playground, I was sitting in the outdoor classroom on one of the rough hewn logs and was really enamored by the sounds of the birds, uh, the-the light din of Interstate 93 light, um, and the sounds of the construction equipment, and was just really taken aback by the 66 trees, the innumerable, although we do have the number, shrubs and bushes, uh, that were installed, and just everything that has come together through a lot of hard work, uh, by Shanine, Amanda Centrella, um, your-your work in helping to fund this. many city departments, and I've said this on several tours that we've done as well as at the school committee last week. I firmly believe that while this is a small $2.8 million playground, and I say small only in comparison to the work we're doing on the Massachusetts School Building Committee, Medford High School School Building Committee, And what well-planned, well-designed, and with community input can deliver for the citizens and students of Medford can really be unmatched. And this project is, I would say, nothing short of amazing. Someone had asked earlier about the bike racks. So I can point out that this right here will be one station of new bike racks. And then I believe the other station is over this way, but I'm not clearly delineated, but so we'll move in. So, just as a reminder, here's why the McGlynn needed to be rebuilt. So, it was approaching 25 years old and that's about the lifespan. So we were having significant flooding as the site used to be part of Mystic River and the French trains that were around the perimeter of the facility had failed. Really grateful to the DPW because they came in and for the last year while we were designing, were able to rebuild those French trains.
[Roberta Cameron]: Dr. Cushing, if I could just interrupt for one second. This is really superfluous, but the reason why we're seeing water in the middle of that picture is because this is the area that used to be known as Labor in Vain.
[SPEAKER_06]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: As part of the Mystic River, it had a name and it was Labor in Vain. Actually, the next slide has a map that shows Labor in Vain.
[Peter Cushing]: Which, interestingly enough, is a street in the city that I live in as well. So the McGlynn, it was built on land part of the Mystic River. You can see here the old concrete walls, which have been removed, and the blue that basically represented the shape of the river. And so the land is wet a lot of the time. So what's going on behind the fence? A lot of diligent work. We had a snow breaking back in December, and they've really done a lot of work throughout the winter. Shanine, the boulders came from?
[SPEAKER_12]: Our park.
[Peter Cushing]: Yep, so.
[SPEAKER_12]: Oh, right.
[Chenine Peloquin]: They're really artistically set throughout the whole thing as extra scenic and play value. It's fun.
[Peter Cushing]: Yeah. So they demolished the old playground, removed it, did a lot of testing of the soil, drainage, land forming by building hills, digging rain gardens, which are really incredible to see, protecting the existing trees. We did have to remove a number of trees as well, but that's simply because they were no longer either living or were not going to be able to recover.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Um, we, a lot of them were in the flooded areas, so we have lost several trees just because they were completely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Peter Cushing]: We did electrical and data out to the pavilion as well as to the exterior wall near the outdoor classroom. We put in plumbing, which was a little bit of a challenge in and of itself, for a water fountain slash bottle filling station. We put in the fillings for basketball hoops and sports nets. Sports nets will go, I think, 16 feet high. Shanine did a lot of consulting with the Perkins School for the Blind on colors. Playground equipment was ordered, as well as other park features, finalized the play structure design and colors, and relocated the boulders, as Shanine said, from Carr Park. Then I just want to give you this image, OK? Because there was so much. unused space here all right um and keep the tree as a point of reference i also want to point out that the old playground used to have this walkway that went completely around its perimeter uh and this walkway here which is also a fire lane had completely unfettered access for the public during school hours. We are putting up a barrier gate here that the fire department, DPW, and school personnel will have access to, and we are putting up another barrier gate here. That's designed to really push the public out away from the school itself. And this walkway has largely been removed. I'd say about 75% of it has been removed. And the new direction of the walkway will move this way and then shoot across the existing park space to connect with the walkway along the Mystic. So, really looked at that for safety here. You see the pavilion. That has been built the. tar that you can see here is going to be covered and poured in place with a flock of birds approach to it. And Shanine, do you want to talk about the visual and other curbing that we're talking about for up here for safety?
[Chenine Peloquin]: Sure. So along with the consultant from Perkins, we were talking about high contrast colors and alerting colors. So a lot of folks with visual impairments can see red or yellow. and those are alerting colors. So we took the approach throughout the playground whenever there's a hill of that inside edge of the hill being yellow. And so that's consistent on this side as well as on the plate structure area. Recently, we've been realizing just how steep that edge is and looking into solutions to keep kids who use mobility devices from rolling off. So this is kind of our current challenges to figure out how we're going to install it. But we're looking at this kind of four-inch rubber curving that would go on top of the concrete. Let's see, my hand in here. So it would go on top of the concrete, and then the edge would have that yellow edge and go down toward the field. And there are other schools that do have this big edge. The Healy School in Somerville has a big edge. So we're actually touching base with their Their staff to see if they've had any any problems with the edge just with their typically developing students in addition to any students with physical disabilities.
[Peter Cushing]: So here's the pavilion with the turf that was not funded by CPC money, but it's clear. The pavilion now has its roof on, but again, this now takes up a significant amount of space that was just unused, that had no play value. And so just this area alone will add significant play value to the square footage of the McGlynn. The students were exceptionally clear in the listening sessions with Shanine about protecting this tree in the labor in vain point. And so the initial designs were to have the deck that you see in the lower right hand corner actually wrap around the tree. The construction company was concerned that the helical piers that were going to be used to support the deck would actually damage the root structure. So rather than destroy the tree, we came up with a pretty quick fix. This was the first element of the playground that was completed. The gravel that you see in the S shape in the top right hand corner. And wrapped around the tree will be covered in a permeable paving called flexi pave that we anticipate will be installed this Thursday or Friday.
[Chenine Peloquin]: That's also the surfacing in the outdoor plaster. Yes, it's currently being used if you're curious about the. about the surface. It's actually installed around a tree on Morrison Playground. So there's the rubber surface and then there's kind of a reddish brown surface that it allows some movement of the roots and protects the roots but also allows water to get straight through.
[Theresa Dupont]: There's a really good infographic sign at that tree in particular. If you're walking through it, it explains how it won't choke the branch out of the roots or anything like that.
[Peter Cushing]: So, we have a number of rain gardens that go around the perimeter. 66 new native trees have either been planted or are in the process of being planted that will create shade, absorb water, and provide a habitat for birds and pollinators. The rain gardens have drainage and plumbing in them to be able to collect the water and slow down the runoff into the drainage system for the city. We also, you'll see here, have installed picnic areas, so prior to cement. And here you can see one of those rocks, one of the boulders from Carr Park. And then it's a little difficult to see here because it's a little small, but there's a nice little promontory rock for our students to be able to launch off of and challenge by choice. So there'll be two round. And there'll be two round accessible picnic tables. And so you can see they'll be here and then they'll also be up underneath the pavilion. outdoor classroom. Shanine, you want to talk about this?
[Chenine Peloquin]: Sure. So on the left, you see, um, the log seating, uh, it is unfinished wood because if we actually stain it, then we will have to restain it every year. So it will actually last longer and be in better shape, um, left natural. And there are two designated, uh, wheelchair seating spots, one up in the front. Um, Peter, yeah, there you go. And that, allow students who need to be up front to sit there without being in view, like without blocking the view of students who might be sitting behind. And then on the back left, there's another designated spot right there. But there are other areas as well where wheelchair seating would be available. And the two posts in the center there will have a whiteboard attached to it, an outdoor whiteboard. And then if you were to stand in that spot and do an about face, you would see these Garden beds, one is lower height for kids to be able to stand at for our youngest students, as well as for students who use wheelchairs to be able to come up for side access. But then the other table has front access so that someone has knee clearance. Or if we had an adult volunteer come who has a wheelchair, they can pull right up. I think one of the really neat features, and it's not done yet in this picture, but on the broad side of the accessible bed, there's a square about this big, maybe maybe 15 inches wide, that has, it's a root viewing window. So it has plexiglass on the inside, and it'll have a movable door to block out the sunlight, because if you didn't put the door there, then the roots would go hide and they wouldn't come up against the surface, but the students will be able to see the whole root structure of what they're growing. And then the tops of that are the composite boards to help with durability and lack of splinter.
[Peter Cushing]: So, coming up next, like I said, just recently, a significant amount of asphalt has gone in on the property for the binder, the lower portion of the asphalt. That needs about 28 days to cure. Then this week, the Flexi Pave will be put in in the various spots. Yesterday, they were working on the water fountain and bottle filling station.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Which is adjacent to the second bike area that Dr. Christian pointed out.
[Peter Cushing]: And so planting the trees, the shrubs, and then we'll be starting on the actual playground climber coming up here in a few, in about two weeks.
[Joan Cyr]: Is this slated to be finished by the time, how did you say it, next year?
[Peter Cushing]: We are on target for about August 28th and planning a, we have not started planning, but planning a ribbon cutting ceremony sometime on or about that time to make sure that we are really celebrating the work that has been done here and showcasing it for the community.
[Chenine Peloquin]: So we're hoping for a dry summer, not too dry, but not a flooded summer where they can't work. So barring unforeseen weather conditions, we're on target to be ready before the beginning of school. But should any random things come up, it might be like a week or two after. And the school community is prepared for that if that happens. So thank you. This is, it's magical. It really is being out there and Teresa got to come and then Roberta had to rain out, but it was, it was, you transformed the space that's over there.
[Theresa Dupont]: It doesn't even feel like the same place. Like even at one point we turned around and you point out, oh, we never even knew there was this mural on the side of the school, you know, like things like that. Like you're just seeing that whole space in a different way. Yeah. In terms of, you should be proud of the work you've done.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Thank you. not possible without all of you. Yeah, we were on top of the hill the first time we were out there, and there is a relief in concrete on the building that neither Mr. O'Brien nor I had ever noticed. The students of course were like, you know what's there. When I said that to the fourth graders last week, but it has, actually on the community update, was that the, oh, I guess it's on the committee update that we- Let me see if I can get that slide up.
[Peter Cushing]: Hold on.
[Chenine Peloquin]: It's a relief of there's like shipbuilding and something else. And there's kind of Medford leaders that are, their names are written as book titles. And then there's a quote that says the future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams or the beauty of their dreams or whichever that, whatever that quote is. I got it. Yeah.
[Peter Cushing]: Go on, give me a hot second.
[Chenine Peloquin]: And so it actually is so much more visible and noticeable from the pavilion. So it's nice to be able to highlight this piece that was already there. So we're gonna work on getting that power wash before the opening. Nice.
[Theresa Dupont]: Oh wow. Isn't that great?
[Peter Cushing]: We just need to have our power washer fixed, so maybe that would be a second grant.
[Joan Cyr]: We can't do maintenance.
[Peter Cushing]: I know. That's awesome. And there is another one, just so you know, on the back of the Andrews School, if you ever want to take a look. I don't have a picture of it handy, but it's pretty cool as well.
[Roberta Cameron]: I'd love to get DCR to request a grant or to actually find state funding to fix those bridges too. Yeah.
[Chenine Peloquin]: Well then, so we do have labor in vain right there. You can kind of see it there. Yeah. And then also on the, there's a kiosk in the outdoor classroom that has, that will have weather measurement instruments and rulers and all sorts of things that go along with the curriculum. But we also designed a, a sign that will go there that has a map of the playground and kind of the eco-friendly features of the playground, including the rain gardens and native plantings, but also has a map of the original path of the river and has a note about that. And then it also has kind of a scavenger hunt of like, can you find these native trees on the playground in the shape of a leaf? So we can't wait to show the community this. It's just, it's really exciting. Thank you. This is really exciting. It's a good time for you now, my friend. Fourth grade mom's night. We made it to the end of the school year. Yay. Yes. Thank you all, and thank you for your- Thanks for the update. Yeah, and for your kindness with John. He was- Oh my gosh. Such a trooper coming without his compatriots. He was a rock star. Yeah, he was. All right, thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Dr. Coaching.
[Theresa Dupont]: We appreciate you. Thank you.
[Peter Cushing]: Have a great night.
[Roberta Cameron]: You too. Thanks. Bye. All right. So next on the agenda, upcoming events and tabling outreach efforts, ribbon cuttings.
[Theresa Dupont]: All kinds of fun stuff happening. Yeah. One thing I did include in the Dropbox, a list of all events that happen here in the city that I think we can weasel our way into. Some of them are very obvious, large events. And then some of them are perhaps a little bit more smaller or grassroots. They're not necessarily cached events or city of Medford events. So it's pretty comprehensive there that folks haven't had a chance to peek through it. First and foremost, what's coming up in four days is Circle the Square. Roberta and I are both, you're gonna be there. I unfortunately cannot be there. Oh, all right, all right. So I will be there if anybody wants to come hang out with me, I welcome that. But we'll be having a table this Saturday here in Medford Square from three to seven. I have no problem staffing it by myself, but it would be great if somebody wants to hang out. What this event is essentially going to be a table for those who are kind of newer to us. It's just about engaging with the public and finding, you know, having conversations about what they like about our community, what they would like to see improved. So it's a pretty light lift. Everybody is very cool to talk to us about programs, projects that we're doing. Nobody's really combative or anything like that. It's a good time. So if anybody could join on site, that'd be great. If not, I realize it's kind of last minute.
[Joan Cyr]: I'm supposed to go to the circle, the square. I can run to the beer table for you if that would be helpful.
[Theresa Dupont]: I promise if that is an option, I will take you up on it. But I do have, we're going to share a table with CBBG, which is another grant program, my colleague Laurel Siegel. So I won't get involved. So that's this. If anybody can, feel free to text me. The next big one after that would be the National Night Out. It's a national event hosted by the... What's that? It'll be at Cornell. This is, I believe... No, I mean on your list. Where is it on your list? Maybe I forgot to put it on there. I did. It's House Outdoor Movie Night. Well, I didn't put it on there. I'll add it. Thank you for pointing that out. When is that? It is Tuesday, August 6th.
[Joan Cyr]: Oh, sorry. I'll be in Alaska.
[Theresa Dupont]: Okay, good to see you. We still have a couple months on that one, so I'll circulate it again with everybody, but that is a heavily attended event. There's free food, free ice cream. FBI is going to be tabling there. So it's a very unique, interesting event there. So just putting that out there. August 6th is a Tuesday.
[Roberta Cameron]: I am available. So I'll probably be there.
[Theresa Dupont]: And again, I'm not asking for anybody to hard commit right now, just planting some seeds. Upcoming ribbon cuttings. I don't have one for Carr Park. They're talking about potentially doing one for the phase one, but Gillis absolutely has a ribbon cutting scheduled for July 2nd. I believe that's a Wednesday or Tuesday. It is a Tuesday. Tuesday. Tuesday. So usually the ribbon cuttings have an announcement time, but they tend to be somewhere between two and four o'clock in the afternoon. It might be earlier because of the schools being out earlier, I'm not sure, but we're all invited to July 2nd ribbon cutting at Gillis. And I'll circulate that with everybody. Just as an aside, what I would like to do, and that's why I've included it on this list, is to start going to the farmer's market. just walking around the clipboard and just talking with folks, not every week, but a couple of times a month. But that's my goal right now is to try and get us out there twice a month. Yes.
[Reggie Graham]: Have you been down there? I don't have a problem going down there, but have you been down there lately?
[Theresa Dupont]: I have, yes. There's been some emergency gas repairs done. So they had to unfortunately tear up the parking lot, which they did last year. That's it, since this was an emergency and unplanned for.
[Reggie Graham]: So how long is that going to take?
[Theresa Dupont]: I've been told that they hope to be cleared out of there within two weeks. They're repaving today. They got to do some moomin and hydroseeding. But just as a little tidbit on that, it wasn't planned because they are. So anybody, again, planting the seeds, anybody thinks that they could participate, it would be nice if at the farmer's market we had a little bit of a heavier presence this season.
[Roberta Cameron]: I occasionally try to go, but I'm technically on the clock for the entire farmer's market every week.
[SPEAKER_08]: Me too.
[Roberta Cameron]: It goes till 7, right?
[SPEAKER_08]: Yeah, 3 to 7.
[Theresa Dupont]: And I'm happy to spend every single Thursday of my life from 3 to 4.30 at the farmer's market. But again, I just wanted to open it up to everybody. And I just want to, that was pretty much all I had there. Nothing major. It was just, hey, these things are coming up. If you can make it, that'd be great. If you're in Alaska, take me with you.
[Joan Cyr]: So here's my comment. I feel like we need a new, a new shtick. We always go and we do the same thing. I wonder if it's time to turn the page to some other shtick. What do you think we should spend money on? But either selling what we've already done. I love that presentation that Shaneen just did on the successes that we've had. you know, whether it's, and I'm not really sure, you know, is there anybody that we can partner with, you know, to be able to utilize our funding more effectively? I don't know. You know, I feel like we need different questions or need a different approach just in terms of, you know, getting more interest. Sure, I hear you. I hear you. I'll think of it while I'm on the boat. I'll try to think of some ideas in Alaska.
[Reggie Graham]: That's the second time she said something about being in Alaska. I think because she's excited about going to Alaska. Perhaps.
[Theresa Dupont]: One thing I'm going to be doing at Circle the Square is I have a battery backup. It's not quite a generator, but it's a battery backup that I can use to power and monitor. So I've always wanted to make a slideshow or a video of recent CPA projects to keep that exciting. We don't have a tower at our table, which is why I bring that battery backup.
[Reggie Graham]: You know, Joan, you bring up a good point about us marketing ourselves. you know, to the public and so on and so forth. The problem that I see is we pretty much give away as much as money as we possibly can every year. And we pretty much close to maxing out just about every year. If we start marketing ourselves and we don't get any additional funds, Somebody will be a little bit disappointed. All right.
[Joan Cyr]: You're right.
[Reggie Graham]: You know what I mean?
[Doug Carr]: That's being a victim of your own success, I think. I agree. I understand what you're saying, Richard, but I... I like the competition. The first few years were easy because we didn't have to make any hard choices. Now we do. I like the idea, both Joan and Teresa, about showing people what their money has been spent on the last five years. Not everyone came to our fifth-year thing, but that I think there are thousands of people who could walk around and say, oh my God, everywhere I look, I see something and see PCNF. If you look around at the map and the neighborhoods, there's very few areas you can't go four blocks in one direction without something that we funded. I think that's worth more to me than it is like, what do you want? Because it's always the same. It always is a third, a third, a third. It's pretty much what we all want. It's like there's not going to be much new input at this point, unless they have a specific project they want. That's worth asking about. If you have an idea for a project, well, then get involved. Here's the process. Talk to Teresa, talk to our folks. Let's try to make it happen. That's a positive message, I think, and a new message.
[Theresa Dupont]: All good stuff. Thank you. Social play. You guys want to hang out sometime this summer?
[SPEAKER_08]: I do. So in your thing here, let me just get back to it.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah, I had put together, I can't remember what, I was only here for last year, but I did try to put past events that we've done, some new venues to 2024 here. I don't see anybody else putting suggestions in, but yeah.
[Joan Cyr]: I didn't think we could. Can we add to that? The edit is not available for the file, it says. Oh, fine. But anyway, you had question marks about where we've been in the past, and I don't remember all of them, but I know we started at the Semilinas, I think. We did that once or twice. We went to Rio Gusto, I believe.
[Doug Carr]: We went to Fort Tavern one year.
[Joan Cyr]: To where? Did we go to Fort Tavern? Yes, we did. We went to Fort Tavern one year. Then the Brooks Estate. We went to Fiorelli last year. I am more of a fan of an actual restaurant than a brewery deli. To be honest. Did we go to Long Cross before? Or was that another group? Can I vote for a spot with outdoor dining?
[Roberta Cameron]: We did porch before. That's right. Oh, my God. Yeah, that wasn't great indoors. Yeah. Because it was too loud. We couldn't hear each other.
[Theresa Dupont]: Way too loud. Yeah. It is a great venue for music.
[Roberta Cameron]: I think it was pouring rain that day. I think we had been indoors. We got rained out when we were at Real Gusto. We were supposed to be having a picnic on the river. We were invited by, what's his name, to use his patio. Not Vinny. We got rained out of that too.
[Theresa Dupont]: Sounds like long grass might be it, but they do have really good cocktails, gluten-free vegan menu, outdoor dining, pretty good menu. So think about it, but I think that's ticking the boxes here.
[Joan Cyr]: I like that. I like it.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah. Ramona? You like it? Cool. We're going to long press. I'll circulate some dates, like on a scheduling poll thing to see when folks might be not in Alaska.
[Joan Cyr]: July 31st to August 10th.
[Theresa Dupont]: That's a good trip. All right. But I'll circulate a poll. Awesome. That was easy. I feel like that was a lot easier than last year. that we've taken around a few times last year.
[Joan Cyr]: We were trying to go to Alta Cuba, but they were not opening in time. So we ended up at theoretically.
[Theresa Dupont]: Alta Cuba did apply for outdoor dining and they were approved.
[Reggie Graham]: Yeah. They started building. They walked by it the other day.
[Theresa Dupont]: They built it out. I think Alvaro's going to drop tables sometime this week.
[Reggie Graham]: Yeah. So they took a couple of spaces.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah, they carved out two parking spots. Yeah. Um, on Salem Street. Yeah. And right in front of El Tucuba, they've got two spots.
[Joan Cyr]: I still vote for Long Cross. Okay.
[Theresa Dupont]: All right. Okay. Long Cross it is. Done.
[Roberta Cameron]: Yay. Long Cross it is and we'll find a date.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yes. The next thing we have is minutes.
[Joan Cyr]: So we are just supposed to move approval for receipt of the minutes from May 14th? Yes. I just moved approval. You just moved, thank you. Even though it says draft on it.
[Theresa Dupont]: Well, they're draft until you approve them or receive them. Okay.
[Roberta Cameron]: I would consider that. Thank you. Would anyone like to second that motion?
[Reggie Graham]: I move that we approve the minutes.
[Roberta Cameron]: All right. Seconded by Reg. And I will call the roll. Doug?
[Doug Carr]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Joan? Yes. Ari? Yes. Kaylene? Yes. And myself, yes. And it's our fruit. And you, Reg. I'm sorry, I keep forgetting to.
[Reggie Graham]: And I'm sitting close to you, I could... I know.
[Roberta Cameron]: We're in the same air. I'm reading the list and you're not on the list. That would be helpful. Okay. Any other announcements business that we want to do we have any missing members or are we a full compliment. So, right now. Greg had to leave early today, but he also sent a letter earlier saying that he would like to step down from the committee. And it's he in his letter, he stated that he doesn't see how a member of the Conservation Commission adds value to the CPC. And I can understand that concern, but it is in the legislation and we don't really have any say over the legislation. So I will reach out to the chair of the CPC, who is our former committee member, Heidi, and ask if she can help us to fulfill the role of a member from the Conservation Commission. So we have identified one potential person to take one of the two vacancies that we currently have of general public seats and submitted that for council approval and that's scheduled for June 25th. So as of our July meeting, we should have one new member. So that still leaves us down two. And we would love to recruit people.
[Joan Cyr]: Well, that's something we can talk about at the tabling event on Saturday. Yeah.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yes. We've identified a new tactic to trying to recruit people. So we can discuss that. on Saturday, but yeah, if anybody has any suggestions for friends, this is the mayoral appointed position, so it's at large, so. Reg, if you have anything.
[Joan Cyr]: Do we have a geographic layout of the turret member setup? No, but I can make one easily up. Yeah, because it would be good if we could get somebody from an unrepresented area.
[Theresa Dupont]: I know where you live. Oh, jeez. I know where John is. I think I remember where Ari lives. But I can reach out and just, you know, I won't say like, do you want to meet up with Kayleen? Here's her address. You know, I won't do that. Like a ward, almost like a ward representation type thing. I can do that. Yeah.
[Roberta Cameron]: So I mean, it's helpful to have people, you know, a board that is socially, demographically, geographically, mixed representative of the community.
[Theresa Dupont]: It's in our ordinance. Yeah. Honestly, off the top of my head, I think we're all pretty spread apart.
[Joan Cyr]: South Medford? Do we have somebody from South Medford? That was always a hard place. Yeah. South Medford might be the only one that's not represented. Why don't you ask Jim Silva what he thinks, if he has a recommendation. That would be a great idea. Thank you right now there. So we should start it. Our pitch by do you like to spend other people's money?
[Doug Carr]: That's a good one. That's a good way to pitch it. Roberta, one quick question on the follow-up from the former representative from the Conservation Commission. Did he feel his voice wasn't being heard or he brought no value? Because I certainly don't think that was the case from all the recreation stuff we have. I rely on landscape architects and people who know a lot about environmental issues and wetlands, that to me is foundational to what we do.
[Roberta Cameron]: I agree. I haven't had a chance to speak with him about it myself nor Heidi. I feel like there's a conversation to be had about that. I certainly appreciated the questions and comments that he's raised in the time that he's been here, so I feel like he has been helpful. But I can also understand if he doesn't see how what we're doing directly relates to his role and what he was expecting when he took the position on the Conservation Commission. It is a very different mission than the Conservation Commission. And do you happen to know if there are any vacancies on the conservation commission's form? So there is an opportunity to recruit someone to serve on both. And it could be somebody who would be open to learning about conservation and spending funds, making investments in the community. So, you know, I would love to talk with Heidi about how we can recruit somebody to specifically fulfill that role. So, that's my other business this evening.
[Doug Carr]: I have just one update from M-Belts. We have a new president now. Carly Nesson, who's from South Bedford. We can't have her here though, she's partaken. She's got big shoes to fill after Tom's 30 plus years. We had a special meeting on the 6th last Thursday where we introduced the membership and voted on her. That's the bylaws of InBelt. The torches of InBelt passed literally to the next generation.
[SPEAKER_08]: Wow. Congratulations.
[Doug Carr]: It was tough to find someone. There weren't many. There weren't 20 people knocking down my door. I'm going to be honest here.
[Theresa Dupont]: And we can meet Carly if we come to the July 13th picnic. Is that right?
[Doug Carr]: Yeah, she will be there. Yep, she definitely be there. Just thank you for the reminder on that, Teresa, because we've had, I think, at least 20 picnics at the Brooks Estate. They're free and open to the public. Usually have at least 100 people. It's the second Saturday, the 13th in July, and it's free burgers and dogs. We ask people just maybe bring a snack or dessert, but you pretty much show up and you'll get a a tour of the manor, a tour of the estate if you want to walk the trails, and then you can see where $600,000 of your CPC funds have gone over the last five years.
[Joan Cyr]: So whatever happened with the arts community, they were coming to see that London phone booth at the Carriage House?
[Doug Carr]: Yes, we got them into the Carriage House. The space they were planning on it for was like eight-foot ceiling and this booth was seven foot, like 10 and a quarter. It was probably impossible given that it weighs a ton to actually get it in there physically. It didn't seem like it worked out. That was a few months ago. I haven't heard of them since. That's a longer-term project for wherever that London film booth that's been in the manor since the 80s is going to go.
[Joan Cyr]: Should ask Janine if there's a place for it at the McGlynn.
[Doug Carr]: I don't think the kids know where the phone booth is anymore.
[Theresa Dupont]: Yeah, but I can see her turning that into some sort of funky space inside of it, yeah.
[Doug Carr]: Yeah, it's definitely an art piece, not a function. Yeah, yeah. That's it.
[Roberta Cameron]: Cool. Any other updates? All right. Well, thank you, everyone. Would someone like to make a motion to adjourn? I'll make a motion to adjourn.
[Doug Carr]: Second.
[Roberta Cameron]: All right, then I will call the roll. Ari? Yes. Joan? Yes. Doug?
[Andrew O'Brien]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Reg?
[Andrew O'Brien]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: And myself, yes. Have a good evening, everybody. Thank you.