Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
06-05-25 MPIC Minutes
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Master Plan Implementation Committee Minutes Thursday, June 5, 2025 — 7:00 P.M. Zoom Meeting Present: Emilio Mauro, Chair (Finance Committee); Jim Quigley (Planning Board); Alan Rapoport (Economic Development Committee); Peg Mead (Citizen -at -Large); Bob MacDonald (Conservation Commission); Sonja Grauds (School Committee); and Janice McCarthy (Playground and Recreation Commission) Staff Member: Connor Murphy, Town Planner Not Present: Mike Nourse (Historical Commission) Item #t — Introductions Chair Mauro opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Master Plan Implementation Committee (MPIC), also including the viewers at home, and he noted that the meeting will appear on Canton Community Television. He welcomed Janice McCarthy, the new member from the Playground and Recreation Commission; and Sonja Grauds, the new member from the School Committee, the latter who had also worked on the Master Plan Steering Committee. On behalf of the Committee, he welcomed new Town Planner, Connor Murphy, to Canton. Item #2 — Annual Reorganization of the Committee Chair Mauro explained that the Committee reorganizes after each Annual Town Meeting, and he would like to continue as Chair if that is the pleasure of the committee. A motion was made by Mr. MacDonald to appoint Chair Mauro as Chair of the MPIC, seconded by Ms. Mead. All in Favor; Roll Call Taken; Motion Approved 7-0-0 (MacDonald, Mead, Quigley, Rapaport, McCarthy, Grauds, and Mauro). A motion was made by Mr. MacDonald to appoint Ms. Mead as Vice Chair of the MPIC, seconded by Mr. Quigley. All in Favor; Roll Call Taken; Motion Approved 7-0-0 (MacDonald, Mead, Quigley, Rapaport, McCarthy, Grauds, and Mauro). Item #3 — New Town Planner Chair Mauro publicly thanked T.J. Torres, who had worked as the Town Planner for the past two years and with the MPIC Committee. He was a great asset to the Town and he would like to thank him for his service. Master Plan Implementation June 5, 2025 Pagel of 3 Committee — Minutes
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New Town Planner Connor Murphy introduced himself and explained that he started work this past Monday as Town Planner. He came from the Town of Braintree where he worked for 8 years. He graduated from Westfield State in 2017 with a degree in Planning and Economics. In Braintree, he worked on a number of tasks including comprehensive zoning; completed a rewrite of their Master Plan in 2024; staffed several Boards; and has vast experience. He is very excited to be working in Canton. Item #4 — Action Plan Update Chair Mauro explained that this article (Article 20) was adopted at the Annual Town Meeting in May 2025, to appropriate up to $15,000.00, for the purpose of engaging a consultant to perform a five (5) year review of the Master Plan's Action Plan. The goal is to update the Action Plan section of the 2020 Canton Master Plan, to be conducted under the general supervision of the Town Planner, with the advice and acceptance of the Master Plan Implementation Committee. This is considered to be a reasonable amount and the money will be available as of July 151. Mr. Murphy explained that he is drafting the Request for Proposals (RFP), which will be submitted to the MPIC for their input. He will be working with the Chief Procurement Officer; go through the bidding process; and will work with a to be formed working group to select the appropriate consulting firm for the review. Once the firms have submitted their paperwork, the selection group will select two (2) or three (3) firms; do interviews; check references; and then select a consultant. The Action Plan will review the scope of what has been achieved in the past five (5) years; anything that needs to be reviewed for new approaches will be added to the plan. The work will also identify additional goals, if any, and see what milestones the Town can achieve within the scope of the RFP. The overall objectives are to check off what has been achieved, review strategies for what still needs to be completed, and add any new goals to reflect changing times. The timeline is to hire a firm and begin the review by September. The plan is to go through the bid process by then. Given the anticipated contract cost amount, the Town can select three (3) firms to reach out to; post specific information due to the contract amount; and then go public if the bids received are too high. The firms are general consulting and planning firms that work on Master Plans and this will be in the criteria in the RFP. This plan is less involved than the drafting of the full master plan in 2017-2020, and is just the updating of the Action Plan. As is the case with the existing Action Plan, there will be specific time frames for different action items and different focus areas corresponding to the existing Master Plan. They have worked with the firm of Horsley Witten Group, the firm that developed the 2020 Canton Master Plan and this proposed plan is focused on changing the action items and making updates building off that original work. This plan will require a comprehensive and high level of detail and is more of an update, with information and goals still being relevant in informing what items should be in the Action Plan, who should be responsible for implementation, and when an item should be completed. Item #5 — Canton Heritage Festival Review Mr. Mauro explained that this is the third year that the MPIC has had a table at the Canton Heritage Festival, which was held on May 171h at the Paul Revere Heritage Site. Mr. Mauro was at the table for the full day and Ms. Boyden also volunteered and spent the whole day helping Master Plan Implementation June 5, 2025 Page 2 of 3 Committee — Minutes
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out. They supplied a lot of information to the public, including distributing FAQ sheets, a sheet regarding the Master Plan's main principles by focus area, and the 2024 MPIC Annual Report. They also answered a lot of questions and addressed concerns. Some of the concerns raised by members of the public were: Route 138 (roads, safety, traffic flows; and public access in this corridor); along with middle of the road housing stock in this area. He also spoke with Richard Trotto who is an advocate of a replica bell tower with a statue of Paul Revere for the Paul Revere Heritage Site. Other items of concern were the need to clean-up invasive species; day-care options in Canton; billing and walking options; traffic downtown; improving access to the Route 128 MBTA Commuter Rail station from the Greenlodge Street area; and inquiries regarding what the MPIC is and what it covers. This was a great event. Item #6 — Accentance of Minutes Ms. Mead stated that after reading the April 2025 Minutes and considering Mr. Manning's presentation at that meeting, the number of things that the Economic Development Committee (EDC) does, and how much they do to bring business into town, is very impressive. Chair Mauro, who is also a member of the EDC, stated that Mr. Manning does a great job and is an asset to our Town. He brings business to our Town and his work with CABI is an important part of the revenue growth that he brings in to the Town. He also praised the entire Economic Development Committee for all the work they do as a whole. A motion was made by Ms. Mead, and seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to accept the MPIC Minutes of April 17, 2025, as written. Roll Call Taken, Motion Approved (5-0-2) (Yes: MacDonald, Mead, Quigley, Rapaport, and Mauro; Abstain: new members McCarthy & Grauds). Item #7 — Upcoming Meetings The next meeting will be held on July 24, 2025, at 7: oo p.m. via Zoom, at which time the MPIC will go through the RFP. Adjournment A motion was made by Mr. MacDonald and seconded by Mr. Quigley to adjourn the meeting at 7:31 p.m. Roll Call Taken, Motion Approved (7-0-0) (MacDonald, Mead, Quigley, Rapaport, McCarthy, Grauds, Mauro). Chair Mauro thanked attendees, Canton Community TV, and the public audience who will watch the meeting when it airs. c Connor Murphy MPIC — Town Planner Master Plan Implementation June 5, 2025 Page 3 of 3 Committee — Minutes