Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
By-law minutes March 11 2025
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Municipal By-law Modernization Committee Minutes for March 11, 2025 Pequitside Tavern, 7:00 pm Members Present: George T. Comeau, Louis Jutras, Jen Kemalian, Paul McAuliffe, Randy Scollins, Gilda McGonagle, William Kring, Dr. Susan Harrington Absent: Mike Loughran The meeting was called to order by the Chair George Comeau at 7:02 pm. The chair moved to the first agenda item of the approval / discussion on the minutes from the meetings of January 23, 2025 and February 11, 2025. Previously submitted changes were made and distributed to the members. No additional comments or corrections were offered so Mr. Comeau entertained a motion to approve the minutes for January 23, 2025. The motion was made by Mr. Scollins, seconded by Ms. Kemalian and the motion passed 8-0. Mr. Comeau then entertained a motion to approve the minutes for February 11, 2025. The motion was made by Mr. Scollins, seconded by Mr. Kring and the motion passed 8-0. Mr. Comeau then opened the meeting for public comment and at this time there was no one from the public in attendance. The next order of business was a status update on the General Code project. Mr. Jutras notified the committee that the contract was returned from the vendor, that he had received the first invoice for payment, and that he reached out to Zachary Dumont, the General Code representative, on next steps. Mr. Dumont responded to Mr. Jutras that they received several new contracts in February and that we would have a scheduled call within 30 days to introduce the team and process. At this time Mr. Comeau notified the committee that our Town Planner has resigned and noted the potential impact to the project and timeline. Mr. Comeau stated that we will need to contact the Planning Board and Select Board to see what the expected timing might be for a replacement. Ms. Kemalian mentioned that the position has already been posted. The next topic on the agenda was the Town Meeting report and warrant article. Mr. Comeau reported that he attended the Finance Committee on March 5 and provided them an update on the progress that the By-Law Committee has made to date and also discussed the merits of the funding request for the upcoming Annual Town Meeting. The verbal report was well received by the Finance Committee and they voted in favor of the $20,000 Annual Town Meeting request. Page | 1
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Mr. Comeau asked about the balance of the existing article and what happens with any unexpended / unencumbered amounts. Mr. Jutras noted that there is about $1,300 in the account and that the end of year memo, which is normally available in May from the Finance Director, will outline the process needed to request any carry forward funds. Mr. Comeau asked that this item be added to our future meeting agendas. Ms. McGonagle asked about input from the various stakeholders and the timeline for changes to the bylaw. Mr. Jutras outlined a rough timeline and compared that to the annual town meeting timeline as well as the possible special town meeting in the fall. Mr. Comeau added that a special town meeting might be beneficial to the codification process as we need to figure out a way to provide the new format to the residents and hopefully can draft a motion that is specific to this process that removes the current requirement of printing the entire bylaw. The time, effort, and cost to produce such a document would have a major cost implication to the process. Ms. Kemalian noted that she did speak to Town Counsel on the By-Law project and legal review and our Town Counsel was familiar with General Code and has work with them in other communities. Mr. Comeau asked if we could put together a timeline that incorporated the General Code project and have it parallel with the annual town meeting timeline so we can see how things line up. We can also add dates if there were a special town meeting in the fall so Mr. Jutras will work with other on this. Once the discussion ended on the project timeline, Mr. Comeau asked if there were any comments from the members. Ms. Kemalian noted that there is a department head meeting on March 26 and was looking for a memo from the committee that she could distribute to the attendees that outlines this project and the interaction needed by the various department. Mr. Comeau stated that he would work on this document and distribute for comments. Mr. Comeau, circling back to the timeline discussion, asked if we should compile any approved changes to the By-law that has not been incorporated to date and provide that information to General Code. Mr. Jutras said that he would follow up with the Town Clerk’s office to see if they can provide this material. No other members had any additional items to discuss at this time so the committee turned their attention to the next meeting date. April 17, 2025 at 7 pm was selected as the next meeting date so Mr. Jutras will look to confirm the meeting space availability and notify the members. Seeing that all agenda items were completed, Mr. Comeau offered a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Dr. Harrington and the motion was unanimously approved. The committee adjourned at 7:30 pm Respectfully submitted, Page | 2
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_____________________________________ Louis Jutras, Clerk Page | 3