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March 23, 2022, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes

Finance Committee · Record date 2022-03-23 · Record 5b3b5d0a5d63f71bc9

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Canton Finance Committee                  Minutes Voted on:
                                             801 Washington Street                   Vote:
                                               Canton, MA 02021

                                                 Meeting Minutes
                                                 March 23, 2022


Finance Committee Members Present: Dave Clough, Dan Cole, Tom Emery, Karen Foley, Emilio Mauro, Tim
McKenna, Reuki Schutt and Cindy Thomas.

Finance Committee Members Absent: All members were present for the meeting.

Guests Present:
Shaun Chu, Co-Chair, Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC)
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Recording Secretary
Steven Larabee, Resident (Article 23)
Lisa Lopez, Chair, Canton Affordable Housing Trust
Gene Manning, Chair, Economic Development Committee (EDC)
David McCarthy, Chair, Planning Committee
Patricia McDermott, Planning Board Member
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Laura Smead, Town Planner

Call Meeting to Order: Chair McKenna called the virtual meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.

Discussion - Article 23 (Acquire Easement for 148 Sherman Street) and Article 28 (Amend By-Laws for
Canton Affordable Housing Trust Fund – Contract Authority) – Mr. Scollins stated that Articles 23 and 28 would
be deferred to the Finance Committee meeting on March 30. These articles are still in discussion with the Select
Board and Affordable Housing Trust.

Discussion - Article 3 – Hear Reports of Committees Appointed at Prior Town Meetings – Mr. Manning, Chair
of the EDC presented a PowerPoint report to the Finance Committee. Some of the highlights of that discussion are
as follows:
     •   Mr. Manning made note of Emilio as a key support member of the EDC.
     •   The Committee was formed at ATM in 2008 and has an aggressive approach for attracting businesses to
         Canton and for keeping them in Canton.
     •   Even during COVID the EDC was able to implement the sale of the former Reebok/Adidas property to
         Points 32 Health Care Headquarters and the implementation with the Select Board of the PILOT agreement
         (Payment in Lieu of Taxes Agreement) for Harvard Pilgrim/Tufts. Amazon opened a regional site with 83
         vehicles that Canton receives the property taxes as well as the excise taxes from. Trillium Brewing
         Company opened their corporate headquarters at 100 Royall Street with a brewery and restaurant.
     •   Gene reviewed for the Committee the priorities and goals of the EDC as well as stating that the EDC follows
         the Master Plan as outlined by the Town.
     •   He addressed the impact of economic development on the Town of Canton with the Department of Revenue
         being the source of his information. Business Taxes contributed $29 million in taxes in FY21 which is 35%
         of the Town’s revenue.
     •   Mr. Manning also serves on the Board of Assessors. The tax rate dropped because property valuations
         increased. With Canton’s split tax rate the residential rate dropped to $11.35 and the commercial rate
         dropped to $24.18 for FY22.
     •   Canton’s Commercial/Industrial Tax as a percent of total levy is 38.95% and is higher than some of the other
         Norfolk County communities such as Dedham, Stoughton, Quincy, Randolph, Sharon and Milton. Mr.
         Manning stated that Canton’s commercial tax revenue is outstanding.
     •   The EDC takes pride in having businesses that they have attracted practicing community responsibility and
         outreach.
     •   EDC is a member of the Canton Association of Businesses and Industry (CABI) who will be celebrating its
         40th anniversary with a celebration at the Paul Revere Heritage Site.
     •   In the midst of COVID, many businesses in other communities have laid off employees, moved or closed
         their businesses. EDC is proud of the businesses that have remained in Canton with very few requests for
         abatements, given that the valuations are up.




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Mr. Manning thanked the EDC members for all of their hard work. Mr. Manning opened up the discussion for any
questions.

Mr. Cole inquired about development in the Route 138 section of town. Mr. Manning stated that Route 138
development has been around long before he got involved. The Town is working with Mass Highway to install
enhanced traffic signals. The Town Planner had done a study last year that looked at rezoning areas with a
combination of both commercial and residential areas or mixed-use districts. He indicated that Canton Commerce
Center is a thriving area of Route 138 with Dan Road and John Road. Organogenesis owns four buildings and has
plans to build a fifth building at 275 Dan Road for a new bio-tech center. They also plan on investing $100 million in
infrastructure for their project.

Mr. Manning wanted the Finance Committee to know that the EDC has confidence in the business community as a
strong revenue source for the Town. In the EDC’s opinion the revenue will remain stable and will continue to grow.
Canton is at the top of the list in terms of the competitors. Top Golf is continuing to evaluate the site and has
received their permitting for the site. Mass Highway has agreed to the changes that Top Golf has requested which
was a critical factor for moving forward with the project. Mr. Manning does not know Top Golf’s timeline but the last
he has heard is that they are still moving forward with the project.

Mr. Mauro stated that there were two studies conducted of Route 138. One was done by Mass DOT and there was
also a study done through a grant that Ms. Smead, Town Planner, received through a Smarketing study of the
corridor for tax generation purposes and development a few years ago that was completed. Some zoning
recommendations for Route 138 were made and some of these zoning changes will be on this year’s Annual Town
Meeting particularly the one regarding mixed use at the upper and lower end of the Route 138 corridor. This will start
converting Route 138 into what the Master Plan and studies have indicated that this would be a great way to in the
future maximize revenue generation. Ms. Smead was attempting to obtain a Mass Development grant to create part
of the Route 138 corridor into DIF district. The pandemic has held up the Town in obtaining technical assistance with
regard to this grant.

Mr. Mauro acknowledged Gene for all of his work done for the Economic Development Committee and for helping
EDC be a great Steward for Economic Development in Canton. He also stated that EDC tries to increase revenue by
growing the economy to maximize the economic potential of the Town so the Town has more revenue to be able to
do all of the items on the warrant and all of the operating budget requests.

Discussion – Article 17 Motion 5 (Part-Time Housing Coordinator), Motion 7 (Mutch Outdoor Skating Rink
and Motion 8 (Galvin Middle School Outdoor Basketball Courts – Shaun Chu, Co-Chair of the Canton
Community Preservation Committee (CCPC)

Article 17 Motion 5 – Mr. Chu presented the following information regarding the Part-Time Housing Coordinator
position:
     •    The number of hours anticipated for the benefits-eligible Housing Coordinator position is 20-25 hours per
          week.
     •    The per hour rate ranges from $29.78 per hour to a maximum of $35.88 per hour. The CCPC arrived at this
          range by looking at similar positions in the Medway, Groton and Orleans who had similar coordinator
          positions.
     •    The benefits are standard for positions with 20 or more hours per week.
     •    There will be an expense budget of approximately $1,000 which they anticipate will have a modest amount
          for office supplies, basic training and a computer purchase.
     •    The Grade and Step of the position on the Town’s classification schedule is to be determined by the Human
          Resource Director.
     •    It is still being determined as to who the reporting authority will be: the Select Board or the Municipal
          Affordable Housing Trust.

Ms. Lopez stated that she attended the Finance Committee meeting as the Chair of the Municipal Affordable Housing
Trust and discussed information regarding the position.

The Housing Trust supports a job description that was not only based on similar positions from towns who have
experience with housing coordinators but also considered what the specific needs for the position in Canton might be.
The purpose of this position is to add staff capacity in terms of executing the housing plan that is being prepared with
a great amount of community input and having been funded with last year’s CPA grant. The reason why the job
description is fluid is that the specific job responsibilities are going to relate to what strategies are identified in the
Housing Plan. The Housing Plan has not yet been completed or recommended for near term as opposed to longer
term execution and supported by other groups in Town such as the Select Board. Those strategies need to be
written into the job description once the Trust knows what those are. Ms. Lopez gave as an example the Trust could

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decide to support a first-time homeowner’s program or a rental assistance program or aggressively try to negotiate
deed restrictions that are due to expire. Depending on which strategies are selected, they will be figured into the job
description.

Ms. Lopez stated that, in addition, the Town Planner has recently announced her resignation, leaving a “huge hole”
for the Town. Part of the Town Planner’s responsibilities is supporting the Housing Trust. Depending on how long it
will take to fill that vacancy, the Housing Coordinator may also include performing some of the administrative duties
that the Town Planner had when she was supporting the Housing Trust.

The Town is also losing the Community Preservation Committee Administrator which is indirectly partly responsible
for community housing. CPA funds are spent on Open Space and Recreation, Historical Preservation and
Community Housing. The CPA position cannot accomplish what the Housing Coordinator position was intended to
do, but there has been some question raised about whether to try and recruit two part-time positions. A better
strategy might be to recruit a full time person where part of their role is to support CCPC and part of their role is to
support the Housing Trust. The discussion regarding this idea is beginning the week after the Finance Committee
meeting at the Housing Trust level but has not been broached at the CCPC level. This is a new idea. The job
description, although we have a model that we thought would be workable at least until the issuance of the final
housing report, is somewhat in flux and could change between now and after Town Meeting, assuming the funds for
this position are approved at ATM.

In response to Mr. Cole’s question about the combining of these two positions (Part-time Housing Coordinator and
Part-time CCPC Administrator), Ms. Lopez stated that the funding for this combined position could be totally funded
using CPA funds and no dollars expended from the municipal budget. Ms. Lopez stated that there are some towns
that have planning and economic development staff with more staffing than Canton does at the present time with just
one staff member, the Town Planner.

Mr. Mauro inquired that if these positions are merged into one position would that change the qualifications or are
those two positions similar enough that it would be workable to have one person doing dual roles. Ms. Lopez
responded that the suggestion of combining these positions was made to her by Stuart Saginor, Executive Director of
the statewide Community Preservation Coalition. There is one other town in Massachusetts that has done this dual
role position. The two positions have similar competencies with regard to planning, communication and
organizational skills but have different subject matter competencies. An individual could be knowledgeable about
housing laws but might not be knowledgeable about CPA laws. A determination would have to be made as to the
value to be gained for the Town by having a full-time person who is less vulnerable to turnover and would be worth
the requirement of having to train someone in one or the other subject matter areas if they are weak in one area or
the other. Mr. Scollins confirmed that the consolidated position could be paid in one paycheck out of the Town’s
financial system but out of two different accounts within the Town. The CCPC Administrator would be paid out of the
CPA administration portion of the CPA fund while the Housing Coordinator would be paid out of the CPA Housing
portion of the CPA fund.

Article 17 Motion 7 (Mutch Skating Rink) and Article 17 Motion 8 (Galvin Basketball Courts) - Mr. Chu stated
that although these projects have similarities with regard to issues that need to be addressed, the CCPC has
recommended these projects with different solutions, which was a concern to a minority of the Finance Committee.
The CCPC is in support of a tile system that could be overlaid on the basketball courts. The reason the CCPC did
not choose the tile system for the skating rink was, although the surface cracking issue was very similar to the
basketball courts, when looking at the “totality” of these two projects, the cracking issue is where the similarities end.
The skating rink is a larger size and project scope compared to the basketball courts. There have also been safety
issues brought up with the skating rink, which is more than just a skating rink as it includes jumps for skateboards and
bicycles and these issues need to be fully evaluated. There are also ADA compliance issues that the CCPC is aware
of. The Parks and Recreation Department came to the CCPC to propose the design study for the Mutch Rink. As
part of that rink design study there could be a similar recommendation for a tile system being recommended for the
basketball courts but at the present time this is not known to the CCPC.

Mr. Clough is concerned with the stormwater and drainage system issues at the basketball courts. ADA issues are
also a concern.

Discussion of Article 20 – Auction of Town-Owned Property Located at 25 Neponset Street

Mr. Scollins reported to the Committee that he did reach out to Dr. Solomon who remains strongly interested in
having Article 20 brought up at Town Meeting.

    •    Mr. Mauro inquired that if one of the articles (19 or 20) were to pass does that automatically mean that the
         other article passes? How would that be corrected?


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•   Mr. Scollins stated that the Select Board has withdrawn Article 19. The Finance Committee had a question
        on what direction would ATM be given on how they would vote on Article 20.
    •   Mr. Mauro inquired if Article 19 is withdrawn and Article 20 “wins” what would be the next step. Mr. Scollins
        stated that the Select Board has the authority to determine if the property goes to auction.
    •   Town Meeting “turns the first key” but the Select Board ultimately decides (“turns the second submarine
        key”) whether or not to dispose of the property.
    •   Even though Article 19 is withdrawn by the Select Board the article remains in the warrant.
    •   If the Finance Committee votes to indefinitely postpone Article 19 and votes to approve Article 20, Article 20
        would still go to ATM for a final decision by the voters.
    •   Public auction does not guarantee that the property would be sold to the interested party (article sponsor).
    •   No matter how the Finance Committee votes, Article 20 will still come up at ATM.
    •   Ms. Schutt inquired if the Finance Committee has to have a financial impact opinion on the article. Mr.
        Scollins stated that in his opinion all articles should receive some recommendation to the Voters.
    •   Mr. Clough stated that if the property is auctioned the Town could gain tax revenues from it as well as
        proceeds from the sale of the lot as opposed to making it a parking lot.
    •   The Finance Committee could not vote to withdraw Article 20 because it is a citizen-sponsored article. Mr.
        Scollins would confirm with Town Counsel.
    •   If the Finance Committee were to indefinitely postpone Article 20, Town Meeting could override and debate
        the article.
    •   Mr. Clough inquired if the Select Board auctioned off the property could the deed be restricted to keep it as
        affordable housing. Mr. Scollins would check with Town Counsel on this matter.

Discussion - Articles 31-42 – Accept Revolution Way as a Town Way and (Article 31) and Various Zoning By-
Law Amendments – Presenting Articles 31-42 was Dave McCarthy, Chair of the Planning Board; Laura Smead, the
Town Planner and Patricia McDermott of the Planning Board.

Mr. McKenna stated that he was sorry to hear that Laura Smead was leaving the Town of Canton but wished her well
in her future endeavors.

Ms. Smead presented the following information regarding Articles 31-42:
    •  Articles are categorized into three main buckets: 1) parking, 2) housekeeping and 3) commercial-mixed
       use.
    •  A study done was done a few years ago regarding zoning and economic development in the Route 138
       area. The Master Plan Committee and Economic Development Committee were involved in the process
       with RKG Associates as the Town’s consultant on the project. The study was funded through Mass
       Development. There was quite a bit of outreach along with an economic and fiscal impact analysis giving
       the Town an idea of the benefits and financial benefits to the Town.
    •  Two clusters of mixed use zoning are being proposed for this year’s Annual Town Meeting – 1) a cluster
       near the border of Randolph and 2) a cluster near the border of Stoughton. The purpose is to develop areas
       of Canton that might be appealing to people and to increase vibrancy and interest to those sections of the
       corridor. Mass DOT is interested in the area now and there would be infrastructure improvements to streets,
       drainage, sidewalks and bike lanes.
    •  The Master Plan looks at three areas 1) things you want to keep and not change, 2) things you want to
       improve and 3) things you want to transform. The Route 138 area is one of things that they heard from
       residents that they really want to see transformation.
    •  There has been interest from Mass Development that if the zoning changes are to pass at ATM they would
       help the Town with more technical assistance to develop a DIF district (District Improvement Financing
       district) in the corridor area and perhaps even into the Royall Street area.
    •  Commercial mixed use district changes include Articles 36, 37, 39, 41 and 42.
    •  The updated Table of Use includes both changes for housekeeping and columns that are updated due to the
       mixed used changes being proposed at ATM.
    •  Mr. McCarthy stated that from the Route 138 study of the corridor they heard from businesses and industries
       that the area needs more housing for the workers that come to Route 138. He alluded to a “staggering
       percentage of approximately 99+% of people that work in Canton live outside of Canton.” The reason is the
       high cost of housing and lack of opportunity for those working on Route 138 to live nearby. There is also a
       need for opportunity for businesses meeting, entertaining and housing as it relates to their clients. These
       clients have to go outside of Canton for accommodations.
    •  The Parking “bucket” articles includes Articles 32, 33 and 34. These articles will be clustered at ATM.
    •  Article 32 will update off-street parking requirements. This is based on recommendations of a downtown
       parking study, an economic development study of Route 138 and the Town’s Master Plan.
    •  Article 33 is to update parking requirements in the Canton Center Economic Opportunity District to be the
       same as the general off-street parking regulations.

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•    Article 34 will allow structured parking with a special permit, subject to site plan review and design criteria.
    •    Housekeeping articles to be clustered include 35, 38 and 40.
    •    Article 35 will remove the Economic Opportunity Overlay District only applies to One Orchard Way and the
         former Reebok Headquarters. The Master Plan determined that this overlay district was no longer effective
         for economic development.
    •    Article 36 (map change) will establish a new Commercial Mixed Use District consistent with the goals and
         recommendations in the Route 138 Economic Development Study and the Town’s Master Plan.
    •    Article 37 will establish new by-law with general provisions for a newly created Commercial Mixed Use
         District.
    •    Article 38 is a housekeeping article and will update the by-laws if the Commercial Mixed use District is
         adopted at ATM 2022 and will eliminate the Economic Opportunity Overlay District and Mixed Use Overly
         District. There are different types of mixed-use districts. Vertical mixed-use is commercial businesses in the
         lower level of a building with residential above. Horizontal mixed-use is a commercial-type building next to a
         residential-type building. Uses are separate but they are on the same lot.
    •    Article 39 would update the table of height to include existing and new zoning districts and reflect
         recommendations in the 2018-2020 Canton Route 138 Economic Development Study.
    •    Article 40 would update the language in the by-law with regard to Canton’s special districts.
    •    Article 41 is a housekeeping zoning article that would fill in blank columns in the Table of Use Chart. It
         would also fill in blank uses for the newly formed Commercial Mixed Use District.
    •    Article 42 would include definitions related to the new Commercial Mixed-Use Overlay District, to clarify
         definitions related to Accessory Apartments and include definitions related to electric vehicle charging
         stations.

Mr. Mauro, as a member of the Master Plan Implementation Committee (MPIC), supports all of these zoning changes
and the MPIC voted to accept these changes at their February meeting. Mr. Mauro inquired if any of the mixed-use
properties listed in the article are properties that the Town might expect a fast move to mixed use and if they were for
sale or classified as 41D properties and would these properties be a particular place where the Town would look to
start encouraging that sort of development. Ms. Smead does not believe that any of the properties are currently 41D
properties or fast-permitting spots. She has had calls from individuals within these areas with positive interest.

Mr. McKenna inquired of Ms. Smead if there were any articles that residents might see as controversial articles. Ms.
Smead stated that it is hard to predict which articles might garner discussions at Town Meeting. Parking can get
people talking and the mixed-use district will have some conversation. It will be important to have clarification
regarding accessory dwelling units to explain that there is not actually a change in policy to what the Town already
does, but just a clarification of existing policy.

Vote – Articles 31-42 – Accept Revolution Way as a Town Way and (Article 31) and Various Zoning By-Law
Amendments - Mr. Cough reminded the Committee that Article 31 was not being recommended by the Planning
Board.

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that the Finance Committee recommend that the motions presented by the
Planning Board to Town Meeting for Articles 31-42 as printed in the warrant be adopted was seconded by Ms.
Schutt.
Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt      Aye              Mr. Cole        Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye              Mr. Clough      Aye
Ms. Foley       Aye              Ms. Thomas      Aye
Mr. Emery       Aye              Mr. McKenna     Aye
The motion to approve Articles 31-42 motions presented by the Planning Board as printed in the warrant be
adopted passed 8-0-0.

Vote - Article 3 – Hear Reports of Committees Appointed at Prior Town Meetings – Mr. Scollins reported that
after checking with the Town Administrator and Town Counsel the Master Plan Implementation Committee could not
give a report at the Annual Town Meeting because the committee had not been appointed at a previous Town
Meeting and therefore would not be included under Article 3. Mr. Mauro stated that as the Chair of the Master Plan
Implementation Committee he submitted a report for the Town’s Annual Report.

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that the Finance Committee recommend to Town Meeting that the reports of the
Economic Development Committee, Community Preservation Committee and the Canton Alliance Against
Substance Abuse be heard was seconded by Ms. Schutt.




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Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt      Aye              Mr. Cole             Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye              Mr. Clough           Aye
Ms. Foley       Aye              Ms. Thomas           Aye
Mr. Emery       Aye              Mr. McKenna          Aye
The motion to approve Article 3 passed 8-0-0.

Vote - Article 17 Motion 5 – Community Preservation Committee Motion 5 – Part-Time Housing Coordinator

Mr. Mauro commented that because the Town has been discussing the possibility of combining the position of the
Community Preservation Committee Administrator with the Housing Coordinator, should the Finance Committee wait
to consider Article Motion 5 at a later date? Mr. Scollins stated that Motion 1 of Article 17 is already a motion that
appropriates funds for the Community Preservation Committee Administrator and that there has been discussion
about multiple roles for one position. The Job Description for the combined roles has not yet been approved by the
Select Board.

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that $47,500 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund revenues
to be spent by the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust for Community Housing purposes for hiring a part-
time Housing Coordinator, under the hiring authority of the Select Board, along with incidental expenses
associated with this position for Fiscal Year 2023 was seconded by Ms. Thomas.

Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt      Abstain          Mr. Cole        Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye              Mr. Clough      Aye
Ms. Foley       Aye              Ms. Thomas      Aye
Mr. Emery       Aye              Mr. McKenna     Aye
The motion to approve Article 17 Motion 5 passed 7-0-1.

Vote - Article 17 Motion 7 – Design and Engineering Services for the Rehabilitation of the Mutch Outdoor
Skating Rink

A motion made by Ms. Schutt to recommend that $50,000 be appropriated from the Community Preservation
Fund revenues to be spent for Open Space & Recreation purposes by the Recreation Director with the
approval of the Select Board for design and engineering services relating to the rehabilitation of Mutch
Outdoor Skating Rink was seconded by Ms. Thomas.

Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt      Aye              Mr. Cole        Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye              Mr. Clough      Nay
Ms. Foley       Aye              Ms. Thomas      Aye
Mr. Emery       Aye              Mr. McKenna     Aye
The motion to approve Article 17 Motion 7 passed 8-0-0.

Vote - Article 17 Motion 8 – Community Preservation Committee Motion 8 – Rehabilitation of the Basketball
Courts at the Galvin Middle School

A motion made by Mr. Mauro that $54,095 be appropriated from the Community Preservation Fund revenues
to be spent for Open Space & Recreation purposes by the School Committee for the rehabilitation of the
basketball courts at the Galvin Middle School by removing roots, sealing cracks and installing a modular tile
court system was seconded by Ms. Schutt.

Mr. Clough commented that Motion 8 makes no sense given that Motion 7 is for design plans for the Mutch Rink and
Motion 8 does not address any design plans for the basketball courts. In addition, $35,097 was already appropriated
at ATM 2020 for this project and given the plans for the rehabilitation/construction of the Galvin Middle School, the
basketball courts could be included or repurposed during the construction. There are numerous issues that need to be
addressed with these courts including drainage, ADA accessibility etc. and that approval of these funds may be merely
a “band aid” approach for the basketball courts.

Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt        Aye               Mr. Cole          Aye
Mr. Mauro         Aye               Mr. Clough        Nay
Ms. Foley         Aye               Ms. Thomas        Aye
Mr. Emery         Nay               Mr. McKenna       Aye


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The motion to approve Article 17 Motion 8 passed 6-2-0.

Vote - Article 20 – Auction of Town-Owned Property at 25 Neponset Street (Dr. Gabriel Solomon, Article
Sponsor) – Mr. McKenna inquired if the Committee wanted to postpone voting on Article 20 until their meeting on
March 30. Mr. Scollins stated that if a resident has gone to the effort of a petition and gathering signatures from the
required number of voters the article should be brought to Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Thomas inquired if 25
Neponset Street was a buildable lot and does the Finance Committee need additional information regarding the
property. Mr. Scollins thought the property at 25 Neponset Street would need to be combined with the adjacent lot
currently for sale to make a buildable lot and that Dr. Solomon is aware of that fact.

Mr. Mauro thought that even if the Finance Committee does not recommend Article 20 the article would still go to
Annual Town Meeting floor for the voters to decide. A vote to withdraw the article would be consistent to not auction
the property until the Town makes a decision regarding a parking lot. The Finance Committee’s vote must be
consistent.

Ms. Thomas suggested that the Finance Committee consider deferring Article 20 to ATM. Mr. Scollins stated that the
Finance Committee could defer Article 20 but it was his personal opinion that it is the Finance Committee’s
responsibility to the voters to take a position on the article. Is there a precedent, what would be the message that
might come across?

Mr. Clough made a motion to recommend Article 20 as printed in the warrant. Mr. Scollins clarified if the
Finance Committee wanted to vote an affirmative motion. Mr. Clough restated his motion.

A motion made by Mr. Clough that the Finance Committee recommend Article 20 to Town Meeting that the
Town-owned property located at 25 Neponset Street be auctioned was seconded by Ms. Schutt.

Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Schutt      Aye              Mr. Cole               Aye
Mr. Mauro       Nay              Mr. Clough             Aye
Ms. Foley       Aye              Ms. Thomas             Nay
Mr. Emery       Aye              Mr. McKenna            Aye
The motion to approve Article 20 passed 6-2-0.

Article 4 – Consent Agenda – Mr. Scollins suggested that the Finance Committee discuss the Consent Agenda
motion at their next meeting on March 30. The current Consent Agenda includes Articles 6, 9, 12, 16, 18, 21 and 27.
Mr. Scollins explained to the new members that if one voter at Annual Town Meeting disagrees with an article being
included in the Consent Agenda the article will be removed from Article 4. Mr. Scollins has no opinion on what
articles to include in the Consent Agenda.

Approval of Minutes

A motion made by Ms. Schutt to approve the March 16, 2022, minutes as written was seconded by
Mr. Mauro.

Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Foley       Aye             Mr. Emery       Aye
Mr. Cole        Aye             Mr. McKenna     Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye             Ms. Schutt      Aye
Mr. Clough      Aye             Ms. Thomas      Aye
The motion to approve the March 16, 2022 minutes passed 6-0-2.

Next Meeting Date: The Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 to discuss and vote the
FY23 operating budgets. April 6, 2022 will be the last Finance Committee meeting prior to Annual Town Meeting on
May 9, 2022.




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A motion made by Mr. Clough to adjourn the meeting at 9:31 p.m. was seconded by Ms. Thomas.
Roll Call Vote:
Ms. Thomas      Aye             Mr. Emery         Aye
Ms. Schutt      Aye             Mr. McKenna       Aye
Mr. Mauro       Aye             Mr. Cole          Aye
Mr. Clough      Aye             Ms. Foley         Aye
The motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:31 p.m. passed 8-0-0.

Minutes reviewed by: Reuki Schutt

Respectfully submitted,




Timothy McKenna
Chair, Canton Finance Committee




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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
                                             Meeting Documents
                                                March 23, 2022


Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).

Information regarding the FY23 Municipal Budget may be found at the following link:

https://www.town.canton.ma.us/407/Municipal-Budget-Capital-Information

Agenda for March 23, 2022 (1 page).

Canton Economic Development Committee 2022 Update – provided by Gene Manning, EDC Chair (10 pages).

Draft - Recommendations of the Finance Committee to the Voters of Canton, Massachusetts dated 3/30/21.




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