1 July 2024
During the campaign for Select Board, I promised to keep track of time spent on the job, and also to do a “From My Window” summary of activities.
The first task now takes the form of a time-keeper spreadsheet which I update week by week, and should offer transparency into the types of activity a Select Board member undertakes. The first month on the job was atypical, in that it included unanticipated events in the personal arena plus a family vacation. June highlights, in no particular order.
The other new Select Board member Don Southard and I got our Town Computers from IT, and attended info sessions and training from Town Administrator Mitch Viera. We SB members are basically on-call for our constituency 24/7. I welcome your input ( levans@rockportma.gov )
When asked about desired format for meetings, I opted for in-person or hybrid meetings over Zoom; looks like that will be revisited in September. Much better to meet face-to-face I find. My Weds. Office hours from 12-2 have been going well. I want to talk with you, hear your concerns! Please sign up with Molly Whelsky in the SB office ( mwhelsky@rockportma.gov ) or me, and indicate a desired 15-minute timeslot, meeting in Meeting Room A in Town Hall. I welcome talking to people one-on-one or in a group.
Fresh off the campaign trail, Don and I requested from Mitch a “Big Issues” Select Board meeting where the Board could discuss large issues facing our Town, and prioritize them so we might plan effectively and get things done. Public input will be important! Chairman Brackett promised this very soon.
We heard strong support for the Town getting to Net 0 by 2040 during the campaign. A big highlight of my first week in office was the Town-Green-Sponsored presentation by Massachusetts Climate Chief Hoffer at the Shalin Liu. She and her team encouraged us Towns to move aggressively to secure State and Federal financing to reduce our carbon footprints, and pointed the way to doing that in 2024, a path I am following, as noted during the campaign. More soon!
Another immediate priority: resolving the persistent idling trains problem. I’ve gotten assurances from the Town Administrator and from Selectman Paul Murphy that things are moving forward, and that a meeting in Rockport with MBTA and State Representatives will happen in late July. I will follow up on this. I met State Senator Bruce Tarr and he assured me he is ready to come to Town with an MBTA representative to try and resolve things. I understand that the Rockport Board of Health agreed in principle to install Purple Air Sensors so we could establish a baseline for the level of pollution (if not noise) currently surrounding the Train Station due to idling trains, but funding needs to be worked out.
I got appointed as SB liaison to the Rockport Affordable Housing Trust (RAHFT). In that capacity, I have read the draft of the Housing Production Plan (HPP), long in the works, and anticipate meeting with some of its authors this week to better understand the process behind the document’s provenance and information. It was submitted to the State in May for review and comment; as I understand it, they have 120 days total for that process. In order for the RAHFT to do its job and lead the Town in reaching the state-mandated goal of 10% of our housing stock being deemed “affordable,” after the HPP is approved, we need a Strategic Plan and a Feasibility Study. The Town is late out of the gate on this process. Thankfully, Charles Seavey was appointed to the Trust recently; the volunteer group is smart and strong and eager to get to work.
During several meetings, people noted some disparity between the Select Board policies and the way the Board does business day-to-day, specifically regarding appointment of committee and commission members (10-05), Chapter 91 Applications (DEP public meetings being triggered) (20-01), release of Executive Session Minutes (10-08). Anticipated proposed policy changes will be an agenda item in a SB meeting soon.
Answering requests from several people for a one-pager “Vendor Review Form,” I drafted one and submitted it to Town Adminsitrator . Hopefully with such a feedback form in place, we can build a written feedback history of vendors and consultants, which will help the Town going forward to seek out high-quality consultants and other vendors.
The Municipal Vulnerability reparedness (MVP) Report on Nature-Based Solutions for Rockport’s coastline was delivered a week ago Monday at the Community House. I was away on vacation and requested a copy of it from Conservation Commissioner Lopez. Here’s a link to the MVP Report from 2018 for comparison purposes.
This just in: Articles J and L (ban on gas-powered leaf blowers) , Bylaw updates, from Spring Town Meeting were just approved by the State and will be posted on the Town Web site soon.
Going forward, I’ll post these weekly updates of time and news tidbits at https://laura4rockport.com/blog-posts/on Friday afternoons, so I won’t clutter your mailboxes! If you want to opt in and receive these updates by email, let me know and I’ll be glad to send set up a separate Google Group and send by email or even paper mail if so desired.
Thanks, and Happy Fourth of July!
Laura Evans
Select Board Member