The Select Board opened with a somber tribute to late community member Joe Wyman, with Eric S. Kelley noting, Joe, uh, to everything I I understand, Joe did a lot for the community and, uh, he will certainly be missed. Following the tribute, the Interim Town Administrator provided a critical update on the Eversource gas facility flaring activities, confirming that odor levels are returning to normal in the streets and homes. Harbor Master Mike Deo then presented two vital infrastructure projects, explaining that the North Pier dredging is essential because currently the North Pier dock is high and dry at low tide already. Motion Made by Eric S. Kelley to award contract to NELM Corporation for the Ridge Road Boat Ramp Improvement Project in the amount of $504,525. Vote Passed 3-0 Motion Made by Eric S. Kelley to award contract to Atlantic Coast Tug and Marine LLC for Green Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project in the amount of $78,500. Vote Passed 3-0

Patricia Simpson unveiled significant updates to the town's digital presence, marking a long-awaited modernization of the municipal website. I also wanted to address the fact that at a previous meeting we had talked about a um financial review of the town and and I did find that in December 2012 that we did have one and on it it said improve maintenance of the town website, Patricia Simpson remarked, noting that the site now features improved mobile navigation and page analytics. The board then transitioned into a grueling financial forecast for FY27, where the Town Accountant and Interim Town Administrator warned of a $4.5 million structural deficit. The Town Accountant emphasized the strain of rising vocational enrollments at South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School, stating, Each year you're adding more students until you get to a full slate of students.

The Interim Town Administrator characterized the town's current financial state as a "perfect storm" caused by the exhaustion of one-time revenues and soaring fixed costs like health insurance and pensions. Your revenues are collapsing. You really were using too many um one-time revenues to uh subsidize your budget um over the last few years, he cautioned, adding that a $4.5 million shortfall looms if the town does not implement a multi-year correction plan. Stephen R. Darcy addressed the long-term impact of vocational school debt, suggesting that the town may need to reconsider a debt exclusion to protect core services. Stephen R. Darcy noted, I suspect what happened was people were looking for more educational information on exactly what they were voting for and what they were being committed to.

The board also tackled ongoing legal matters, specifically the MBTA Communities Act litigation and a solar project contract. Town Counsel clarified the legal status of the town's zoning appeal, noting that the Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear the case in February. I already when we passed this bylaw, I wrote a letter to the clerk's office at the Supreme Judicial Court and explained why our case is in MOO because we approved the bylaw, Town Counsel explained. Stephen R. Darcy argued for maintaining the current compliant status to preserve access to state grants while the legal process unfolds. Motion Made by Eric S. Kelley to approve the temporary appointment of special counsel Zulli from Wilson Sonini for the Clay Pit Landfill Solar Project with specific contract amendments. Vote Passed 3-0 Eric S. Kelley concluded the session by acknowledging the difficult road ahead, stating, We have a lot of work ahead of us and um and hopefully we can come up with something that's going to appease everybody.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.