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Select Board Meeting Packet - 03.29.2021
Town of Brewster Select Board 2198 Main St., Brewster, MA 02631 townadmin@brewster-ma.gov (508) 896-3701 MEETING AGENDA Remote Participation Only March 29, 2021 at 6:00 PM This meeting will be conducted by remote participation pursuant to Gov. Baker’s March 2020 orders suspending certain Open Meeting Law provisions and imposing limits on public gatherings. No in-person meeting attendance will be permitted. If the Town is unable to live broadcast this meeting, a record of the proceedings will be provided on the Town website as soon as possible. The meeting may be viewed by: Live broadcast (Brewster Government TV Channel 18), Livestream (livestream.brewster- ma.gov), or Video recording (tv.brewster-ma.gov). Meetings may be joined by: 1. Phone: Call (929) 436-2866 or (301) 715-8592. Webinar ID: Passcode: To request to speak: Press *9 and wait to be recognized. 2. Zoom Webinar: Passcode: To request to speak: Tap Zoom “Raise Hand”, then wait to be recognized. Select Board Mary Chaffee Chair Benjamin deRuyter Vice Chair Cynthia Bingham Clerk David Whitney Edward Chatelain Town Administrator Peter Lombardi Assistant Town Administrators Susan Broderick Donna Kalinick Executive Assistant to the Town Administrator Robin Young 1. Call to Order 2. Declaration of a Quorum 3. Meeting Participation Statement 4. Recording Statement 5. Executive Session: To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the public body and the chair so declares (IAFF Local 3763) 6. Open Session Anticipated to Commence at 6:15 PM - Discuss and Vote on Fiscal Year 2021 IAFF Local 3763 Collective Bargaining Agreement 7. Public Announcements and Comment: Members of the public may address the Select Board on matters not on the meeting’s agenda for a maximum 3-5 minutes at the Chair’s discretion. Under the Open Meeting Law, the Select Board is unable to reply but may add items presented to a future agenda. 8. Select Board Announcements and Liaison Reports 9. Town Administrator’s Report 10. Consent Agenda Meeting Minutes: March 10, 2021 Joint Finance Committee Meeting Appointments: Tenure Appointments (Police Officer and Keeper of the Lockup) for Officers Jessica R. Ahlman and Stephen J. Hathaway Refinance of Affordable Deed Restricted Home Fee Waiver Request: Brewster Housing Authority – Permit Fees for Brewster Woods; Brewster Conservation Trust - Special Permit Application for 409 Great Fields Road; Brewster Housing Authority - Building Permit Fees for Sunny Pines; Brewster White Caps - Recycling Center Fees; and First Parish Brewster UU - Beach Permit Fee 2021 Razor Clam Regulations Second Letter to Gov. Baker Urging More COVID Vaccine for Cape Cod 11. Discuss and Vote New Hawker & Peddler License – Eric Barber of Rooftop Power 12. Presentations and Votes on Citizens Petitions for Spring 2021 Town Meeting Private Road Betterment – Donna Cormier Punkhorn Parklands Hunting Ban – Betsy Smith Nauset Regional School District School Choice Program – Helga Dyer 13. Discuss and Vote on Spring 2021 Town Meeting Warrant Articles 14. Discuss Town Response to Eversource’s Yearly Operational Plan and Vegetation Management Plan 15. Discuss Plans for Summer 2021 Permit Program (Beach, Recycling Center, and Shellfishing) and Vote on Proposed Temporary Revisions to Select Board Policy 22 – Public Beaches and Landings Select Board Mary Chaffee Chair Benjamin deRuyter Vice Chair Cynthia Bingham Clerk David Whitney Edward Chatelain Town Administrator Peter Lombardi Assistant Town Administrators Susan Broderick Donna Kalinick Executive Assistant to the Town Administrator Robin Young 16. For Your Information 17. Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair 18. Questions from the Media 19. Next Meetings: March 30, April 5, and April 20, 2021 20. Adjournment Date Posted: Date Revised: Received by Town Clerk: 03/25/2021 Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 TO: Select Board FROM: Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator RE: IAFF Local 3763 FY21 Collective Bargaining Agreement DATE: March 26, 2021 The Town and Fire Union recently renewed contract negotiations. As a result of these discussions, the Town and Fire Union have tentatively agreed to the following terms, which the union has affirmatively voted to ratify. These terms are exactly consistent with what was previously agreed to by both parties last September. 1. 1 Year Term (FY21 – July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021) 2. Amend all references of “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board”. 3. Amend Article 11, Section 7 Standby as follows: “All employees shall be furnished with department communication equipment designed to support the notification of off-duty personnel during recall events.” 4. Amend Article 12, Section 1 Holidays Add Juneteenth (June 19) holiday 5. Amend Article 14, Section 2 Sick Leave Increase maximum accumulated sick days from 180 to 190 in line with current practice and other union agreements 6. Amend Article 15 Bereavement Add partner and stepchildren to immediate family, move sisters/brothers and step- parents from extended to immediate family, increase leave for extended family by 1 day from 3 to 4, and add step-brother/sister/grandchild to extended family list. 7. Add new Section to Article 23 Licenses and/or Certification Add a new $15/day Paramedic Refresher Meal Stipend for offsite trainings (with receipts – proof of payment) 8. Amend Article 24, Section 1 Uniforms and Foul Weather Gear Remove reference to $150 cleaning allowance (now included in base pay). Office of: Select Board Town Administrator 9. Amend Article 24, Section 3 Uniforms and Foul Weather Gear Increase annual amount from $750 to $1000 & memorialize current practice for Class A uniforms and new hires. 10. Amend Article 27, Section 9 Miscellaneous (Fire Prevention Officer) to read as follows: “1. The Fire Prevention Officer is assigned to work within the Fire Prevention Bureau of the Department under the direction of the Deputy Chief and Chief of Department. In addition to his/her normal fire prevention duties the Fire Prevention Officer shall also be responsible to assist the Chief and Deputy Chief with special projects, details, and other duties as assigned. 2. The Fire Prevention Officer position shall be a staff position within the department. The individual assigned shall be compensated at a Captain's rate of pay. He/she shall not assume any fireground authority other than that provided by this agreement under Article 9 Seniority. The position of Fire Prevention Officer shall have a work schedule of four (4) ten (10) hour days per week. The workweek shall be Monday through Thursday 0800-1800. During the course of his/her normal duties the Fire Prevention Officer’s uniform shall be a white 5/11 polo shirt with their position indicated as “Fire Prevention Officer”. 3. In the event a tested Shift Captain assumes the role of Fire Prevention Officer said individual shall maintain his/her rank, wages, title, and uniform designation.” 11. Add new Section 10 to Article 27 Miscellaneous re. Vehicle Design & Specification Committee to read as follows: “Prior to developing specifications for new Emergency Medical, Fire Apparatus, or other specialty vehicle as determined by the Fire Chief a committee of three full-time personnel shall be established. In the event the committee is designing a new emergency medical vehicle the EMS Coordinator shall be included but not counted toward full-time representation. Notification and selection of full-time members shall follow Article 10 Section 1 of the current contract. The committee shall be responsible to make recommendations to the Chiefs office concerning the design, carried equipment, and specifications of said vehicle. The Fire Chief reserves the right to make all final decisions concerning same. Members serving on this committee shall do so on a voluntary basis.” 12. Add new Section 11 to Article 27 Miscellaneous to read as follows: “In the event that the Town offices are closed by order of the Town Administrator due to inclement weather or related emergency conditions and employees impacted by such closure are unable to work remotely, essential employees covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement shall be granted equivalent compensatory time.” 13. Add new Section 12 to Article 27 Miscellaneous Establish a minimum living radius of 15 miles and a minimum callback radius of 9 miles. 14. Amend Article 30, Section 3 Longevity as follows: “The longevity plan is eliminated in its entirety for all employees hired on or subsequent to July 1, 2015.” 15. Amend Article 31 Compensation FY21: 1% COLA retro to July 1, 2020 16. Amend Article 36 Stipends as follows: A) “The Town will provide an annual stipend of $1,000.00 to a member assigned as the Vehicle, Facility, and Equipment Maintenance Manager. This stipend shall be paid in the first pay period of each July. Primary responsibilities include completing minor maintenance and repairs to equipment including vehicles, referring equipment repairs to vendors, minor facility repair/maintenance, coordinating the annual testing of ladders, pumps, SCBA, extrication equipment, and hose, ordering replacement parts, and assisting the Chief and/or Deputy Chief on other maintenance related issues. Work performed in this capacity shall be administered by the Fire Chief and/or Deputy Chief. The Fire Chief retains the right to assign a member to this position following Section 1 of Article 10 Job Posting and Bidding or to refrain from filling this stipended position. B) The Town will provide an annual stipend of $1,000.00 to a member assigned as the Mobile Computer and Software Maintenance Manager and a $500.00 annual stipend to a member assigned as the alternate Mobile Computer and Software Maintenance Manager. These stipends shall be paid in the first pay period of each July. Primary responsibilities include attending applicable meetings and training sessions, performing minor maintenance and repair of all computer components and software, coordinating upgrades and system improvements, coordinating new purchases with appropriate vendors, coordinating with Brewster Information Technology staff and Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Information Technology staff when needed, and training fire department personnel on mobile computer systems. Work performed in this capacity shall be administered by the Fire Chief and/or Deputy Chief. The Fire Chief retains the right to assign a member to this position following Section 1 of Article 10 Job Posting and Bidding or to refrain from filling this stipended position.” 17. Amend Article 41 Training Time Increase annual cap from 24 to 36 hours per person and formalize Deputy Chief review/approval. 18. Amend Article 45 Video Surveillance Cameras, Location Delete last sentence of third paragraph, as it refers to the former fire station building, and amend last sentence in section to use video from surveillance camera only for investigative purposes in response to specific incidents. 19. Add new Article 46 Paramedic Training to read as follows: “Any current employee taking a paramedic training and certification program, or new employee hired as a Firefighter/Paramedic who is enrolled in a paramedic training and certification program said employee will be given a three-thousand five-hundred dollar ($3500.00) one-time bonus for receiving certification as a Massachusetts licensed Paramedic with authorization to practice from Cape and Island Emergency Medical Services. Any employees who receive this one-time payment and leave employment with the Town within less than one (1) year after receiving certification shall reimburse the Town the entire payment amount prior to separation. With approval by the Chief, when the paramedic student has required classroom time and is on duty, the Chief may provide administrative leave for the paramedic student when the vacancy created will not affect minimum staffing levels for that period or create the need to fill the employees shift with overtime personnel.” 20. Add new Article 47 Station Coverage Transfer current policy to contract (see attached). 21. Add new Parental Leave Policy consistent with state statute. See attached. 22. Incorporate terms of Fire Academy & Training Memorandum of Agreement between Town and Union from January 2021 See attached. After the Select Board discussion and vote on this matter, Town Meeting will then need to vote in May 2020 before the contract terms take effect. We have sufficient funding in the FY21 operating budget to cover all elements of this new one-year contract. The Town and Fire Union continue to negotiate a two-year successor agreement (FY22-23). Brewster Fire Department Standard Operating Policy SUBJECT: Station Coverage Staffing S.O.P. 301.22 PAGE 1 OF 1 CATEGORY: Personnel/Staffing SUBCATEGORY: APPROVED BY: EFFECTIVE DATE: 4/2/20 ROBERT G. MORAN, CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: PURPOSE: The intent of this policy is to ensure appropriate emergency medical and fire suppression coverage is maintained at headquarters during ems and fire responses other than those incidents when station coverage is provided by mutual aid resources. SCOPE: Applies to all members of the Brewster Fire/Rescue Department. RESPONSIBILITY: All Group Captains are responsible to comply with and ensure that all personnel under their command regardless of seniority are fully compliant with this policy and trained on its use. Once trained, all members shall be fully responsible for compliance with this policy. ADOPTED STANDARD: Station coverage staffing shall consist of three personnel. Of these three personnel every attempt to ensure at least one (Paramedic) and one (Apparatus Driver) are present in headquarters during all coverage requests shall be made. Coverage for emergency medical incidents shall be requested when an EMS resource (ambulance) is committed to a transport or is reasonably expected to be committed with a transport during which station coverage levels fall below the authorized three personnel. This includes mutual aid requests. Coverage for fire suppression incidents shall be requested when a fire suppression resource is committed to an incident scene or is reasonably expected to be committed f or a period of at least 20 minutes during which station coverage staffing levels fall below the authorized three personnel. This includes mutual aid requests. The number of personnel requested for coverage shall correspond with the minimum coverage staffing requirements of three personnel indicated herein. Members responding to a coverage request shall call into Barnstable County Dispatch and inform the dispatcher they are responding to headquarters on the coverage request. Members responding to headquarters on coverage requests may be directed otherwise dependent upon the needs of the emergency event. 2339209_1 PARENTAL LEAVE Full time male or female employees will be eligible for parental leave if he/she has completed an initial probationary period of his/her employment (not to exceed three months) or if there is no probationary period after three (3) consecutive months of work. Part time employees are not entitled to parental leave. An employee may use parental leave for the purposes of caring for a child after: (1) the child's birth ;( 2) the child's adoption if the child is under the age of 18 (or 23 if the child is mentally or physically disabled); or (3) the child's placement pursuant to a court order. An employee is entitled to eight (8) weeks of parental leave unless two employees are the parents of the same child in which case they are entitled to an aggregate of eight weeks. The parental leave is unpaid although the employee may use accrued sick leave if applicable. If the employee is eligible for both parental leave and family medical leave and the reason for the leave is covered by both statutes the leave shall run simultaneously. Employees taking parental leave shall not be required to take paid leave if they have paid leave available but my do so if they choose and are otherwise eligible for that type of paid leave. An employee is required to provide at least two (2) weeks' notice of the anticipated start date of the parental leave. If for reasons beyond the employee's control two (2) weeks is not feasible the employee is required to give notice as soon as practical. Conflicts With the Family Medical Leave Act as amended by the regulations of 2013, the Family Medical Leave Act shall prevail if there is any conflict between the Act and this policy. To the extent that M.G.L. Chapter 149, Section 105D, Parental Leave Act, provides greater family or medical leave rights than the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, then M.G.L. Chapter 149, Section 105D shall prevail. COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Situation in Numbers Massachusetts current as of 3/25 586,298 Total Confirmed Cases (click here for more information) 16,671 Deaths among confirmed cases 18,312,783 test s for the virus conducted to date by MA State Public Health Laboratory, hospitals, and commercial laboratories. United States Last Updated 3/25 Case numbers are updated regularly at noon. Saturday/Sunday reports are preliminary and have not been confirmed with state/territorial health departments. Total Cases Reported to CDC: 29,834,734 Total Cases 542,584 Deaths 57 Jurisdictions Reporting Cases (50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands, American Samoa, and US V.I.) Social Distancing Basics: Stay Home Call/Facetime/online chat with friends and loved ones. If you go out for essential needs: Avoid crowds Stay 6 feet away from others Don’t shake hands or hug Wear a face covering or mask. Thursday, March 25, 2021 O COVID -19 Command Center Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Situation Update The Command Center Situation Report is published weekly. The next report will be published on Thursday, 4/1/21. In This Week’s Report: • Latest Data: Public Health & Vaccine Data Update • Week in Review: Key State Actions o Homebound Vaccination Program Launching 3/29 o $100 Million in Aid for Disproportionately Impacted Communities o $14 Million + in Grants Awarded Businesses for COVID Relief o TDI Local COVID-19 Emergency Grants Awarded to Support Gateway City Businesses o Phase 4 Updated Guidance for Health & Human Service Providers o Health Connector to Provide New , Additional Financial Help for Health Insurance Premiums o DTA Tool to Connect Low Income Households with Local Produce o DPH, Emergency Management, and Disaster Recovery Updates o Holyoke and Chelsea Soldiers’ Homes Weekly Update Helpful Links: • COVID -19 Vaccine in Massachusetts • Public Messaging Resources for Municipalities & Businesses • Mass.gov/findfoodhelp • Unemployment & COVID-19 • Reopening Massachusetts • Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency • COVID -19 Cost Eligibility and Tracking Guidance Today the Baker-Polito Administration made several important announcements including a new program to provide in-home vaccinations to homebound individuals, $100 million in funding for several communities hit hard by COVID-19, and a modest increase in first dose vaccine this week. (See b elow for details.) COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Latest Data: COVID-19 Public Health Update COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Weekly Public Health Report: The Command Center released the Weekly Public Health Report, with town by town information, including the weekly listing of city and town risk levels on Thursday, 3/25. The report also includes granular information on cases by county, biweekly testing rates, contact tracing information (including active COVID cluster information by Exposure Setting Type), hospitalization data, race and ethnicity data, information about cases in long term care facilities, and PPE distribution data. Vaccine Update: For a more detailed weekly breakdown, visit the MA COVID-19 Vaccination Data webpage. MA Dose Allocation Update: This week, Massachusetts received a modest increase in supply of first doses, for a total of 172,000. This includes 7,900 doses of J&J vaccine. In total, the Commonwealth received 330,000 first and second doses as part of the state allocation. These figures do not include doses provided directly from the federal government to the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program or to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). This week, first doses and second dose state allocations (total doses), were distributed among providers as follows: • Health systems and health care providers (excluding community health centers): 115,120 • Mass vaccination locations: 109,750 • Regional Collaboratives and Local Boards of Health: 55,850 • Community Health Centers: 28,820 • Retail pharmacies (non-CVS) state allocation : 10,350 • Mobile Clinics supporting long-term care facilities, congregate care, affordable/low-income senior housing, and homebound individuals: 9,800 COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Weekly allocations are subject to change based on federal availability, demand from providers, and obligations to meet second doses. Providers have 10 days to use their doses and must meet specific performance thresholds. The Administration has also been informed that the federal government will send a one-time allocation of 40,800 doses of J&J vaccine to the Commonwealth next week as well as a one-time allocation of 20,000 Pfizer first doses. Federal Doses: In addition to the state allocation, the federal government distributes vaccines to CVS Health sites as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership as well as to certain Massachusetts federally qualified community health centers. These quantities fluctuate on a weekly basis and are not counted as part of the state’s weekly allocation. This week, 115,800 first and second doses were allocated to the retail pharmacy program. 15 FQHCs received 24,570 doses directly from the Federal Government. Week in Review: State Actions Homebound Vaccination Program Launching March 29: Beginning March 29, the Administration will launch a homebound vaccination program to provide in-home vaccinations to individuals who cannot leave their homes, even with supports, to get to a COVID -19 vaccine appointment. In-home vaccinations will be available to homebound individuals who: • Have considerable difficulty and/or require significant support to leave the home for medical appointments • Require an ambulance or two-person assistance to leave the home • Are not able to leave home for medical appointments under normal circumstances. 168 local Boards of Health (representing about 40% of Massachusetts’ population) will conduct homebound vaccination program for their community residents while homebound residents of 183 municipalities (representing 60% of Massachusetts’ population) will receive vaccines through Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA). CCA is a Massachusetts-based not-for -profit, community-based healthcare organization dedicated to improving care for individuals who are dually eligible for MassHealth (Medicaid) and Medicare with complex medical, behavioral health and social needs, including those with disabilities. Health care providers, Aging Services Access Points (ASAP), Local Boards of Health, Councils on Aging (COAs) and other community organizations will be connecting individuals to the homebound program. In addition, homebound individuals or their loved ones can call 1-833-983-0485 to register . The registration phone line is Kelli Barrieau (left), vice president of clinical operations for Commonwealth Care Alliance , joined Governor Baker and Secretary Sudders to announce a new Homebound Vaccination Program. COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and has representatives who speak English and Spanish, as well as translation services available in 100+ languages. $100 Million in Aid for Disproportionately Impacted Communities: The Administration announced today that a total of $100 million in aid will be distributed to Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, and Randolph, four communities which were hit hardest by COVID -19 but are expected to receive disproportionally smaller amounts of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. These four municipalities will be able to use this $100 million in direct aid to support costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including direct response efforts, addressing negative economic impacts, replacing revenue lost during the pandemic, making investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, as well as other eligible expenditures. Based on preliminary estimates published by US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Massachusetts is expected to receive a total of approximately $7.9 billion in direct aid through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including $3.4 billion to counties, cities, and towns in Massachusetts. A portion of this $3.4 billion is being allocated to municipalities based on the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program formula, while assistance to other communities is being allocated on a per-capita basis. The use of these two different allocation formulas creates disparities in distributions among cities and towns, and Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, and Randolph are the four designated hardest hit communities with disproportionately smaller levels of federal funding compared to other hardest hit communities. The commitment announced today by the Administration includes distributing $100 million to address disparities in funding allocations among these four hardest hit communities after the US Treasury publishes final payment figures in the coming weeks. The Administration will work with the Legislature to use existing or future sources of federal revenue to fund this commitment. More Than $14 Million in Grants Awarded to 295 Additional Businesses for COVID Relief: Today, the Administration announced approximately $14.6 million in awards for 295 additional businesses in the eleventh round of COVID relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). As in prior rounds, each grant recipient meets sector or demographic priorities set for the grant programs administered by MGCC. With the addition of this round of grants, the Administration has awarded almost $648 million in direct financial support to 14,351 businesses across the Commonwealth. Grants for this round were awarded to 107 minority- owned, and 107 woman -owned, businesses; 64 grantees are in the restaurant sector, 91 recipients are located in Gateway Cities, and 104 businesses have not received any prior aid. Acknowledging the importance of restaurants and independent retailers to communities across Massachusetts, business owners of multiple locations that met demographic and sector priorities are receiving awards to support additional locations. Additionally, MGCC this week announced the availability of funding to support non-profits that offer technical assistance designed to help existing small businesses recover and thrive post COVID -19, as well as community COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT development financial institutions that will back the recovery, resiliency and growth of small businesses in underserved communities through matching capital. TDI Local COVID-19 Emergency Grants Awarded to Support Gateway City Businesses: Today, the Administration announced $510,000 in funding for 10 organizations to provide relief for small businesses in Gateway Cities during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Through MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Local COVID -19 Emergency Grants program, developed in response to needs faced by small businesses during the pandemic, $60,000 block grants will be awarded to fiscal agents in TDI districts in Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Springfield, and Worcester (Main South), and $30,000 block grants will be awarded to fiscal agents in the areas of Attleboro, Barnstable, and Brockton served by TDI. Recipients can re-grant funds directly to small businesses to cover rent, payroll, or other business expenses, or create small-business stabilization programs specific to their city. MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative works with cross-sector partnerships in targeted commercial districts in Gateway Cities to engage community members, implement local economic development initiatives, and spur further public and private investment. During the program’s first five years, MassDevelopment has invested $18 million in TDI districts through tools such as technical assistance, real estate investments, grant programs, and fellows who work in the districts. That investment has directly influenced over $78.7 million in public and private investments in the districts and assisted an additional $84 million. Created in 2017, TDI Local is a small-business grants program that supports local market development by fostering business, resident, and property-owner engagement, building community identity, and improving the public realm in TDI districts. In 2020, MassDevelopment redirected resources from the program budget to develop TDI Local COVID-19 Emergency Grants as a direct response to the emergency faced by Gateway City small businesses impacted by COVID-19-related closures or loss of business. Today’s awards mark the second round of the TDI Local COVID-19 Emergency Grants pr ogram since the start of the pandemic. In April 2020, the agency awarded $545,000 in funding to 10 organizations; that funding assisted 192 small businesses, including 72 women-owned businesses and 94 minority-owned businesses, of which more than 180 are still operating. MassDevelopment is currently accepting applications from organizations for a new competitive round of TDI Local; applications will be accepted until April 7, 2021. Phase 4 Updated Guidance Released for Health Care & Human Service Providers: As Massachusetts begins Phase 4, this week the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and respective agencies released a series of new guidance documents for health care and human service providers that supports the safe reopening of programs and provider sites and protects workers, patients, families, and the public. Additionally, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health (DPH), and Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) recently released updated guidance to long-term care facilities (nursing and rest homes), Assisted Living Residences (ALRs), and congregate care settings in response to the high rates of residents and staff that are now vaccinated against COVID-19 in these settings. These changes align with recent COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT guidance published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CLICK HERE for a full list of updated guidance to providers . Health Connector to Provide New, Additional Financial Help for Health Insurance Premiums: The Massachusetts Health Connector will be able to provide hundreds of thousands of people with new and increased help paying for their health insurance premiums as a result of the recently enacted American Rescue Plan, starting for May coverage. The new law will make federal premium subsidies, known as Advance Premium Tax Credits, more generous in two ways: It will increase them for many of the Massachusetts residents who already receive them, and it will make federal premium subsidies available to more people who have never qualified before. Most of the Health Connector’s 270,000 current members, along with new enrollees, will experience lower health premiums for 2021 and 2022 under the new law. Current members who are in ConnectorCare or who receive Advance Premium Tax Credits to reduce their premiums will see even lower premiums starting with their May premium payment. Many other people, both Health Connector members and those who don’t currently purchase through the Health Connector, who previously did not get help paying their premiums will become newly eligible for subsidies and can start to access lower premiums during May, for June coverage. The changes in federal premium subsidies create new savings for many people who are currently in Health Connector coverage or considering enrolling in coverage. For people who currently do not have health insurance and need coverage, the Health Connector is maintaining an extended Open Enrollment period through July 23. Current members and new applicants can find more information on the Health Connector’s website. DTA Launches New Tool to Connect Low Income Households with Local Produce: The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) launched a new tool to help individuals and households who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits find open Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) farm vendor locations near them and safe shopping options: DTAFinder.com. HIP puts money back on an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card when people use SNAP to buy healthy, local fruits and vegetables from HIP farm vendors, up to $40-$80 each month. Vendors include participating farmers’ markets, farm stands, mobile markets, and community supported agriculture programs (CSAs). DTA Finder is an interactive map that allows households to search for up-to -date HIP locations. The tool is mobile friendly and available in 5 languages, including Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese. Some of the main features on DTAFinder.com include: • Search a location’s “open” status by month, specific day of the week or "open today" • Search locations by city, county, or your current location • Search locations by order options, such as curbside pickup or delivery • View the names of HIP vendors who sell at a farmers' market -- not all vendors at farmers’ markets process HIP • See information about the HIP vendor (description, contact info, products, picture) COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT • Get directions to HIP locations using Google Maps For more information on HIP and step-by-step instructions on how to use HIP, visit Mass.gov/HIP. Tutorial videos on how to use DTA Finder on a mobile device and desktop computer are available on DTA’s YouTube channel. This tool builds on the Administration’s efforts to increase access to healthy, local food and strengthen our food system during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the long-term. The Administration invested $5 million in additional funds to expand HIP last spring, allowing DTA, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, to enroll 39 new HIP vendors into the program. New farm vendors were selected based on their ability to respond to the needs of populations and communities most significantly impacted by COVID-19, including seniors and communities of color, and those that serve areas designated as food deserts. The majority of new vendors are local, small-scale farmers who live in or have close ties to the com munities and populations they intend to serve. Once fully onboard these vendors will create 81 new access points across the Commonwealth, 16 in Gateway Cities, and 11 in new cities not previously served by the program. Households who do not receive SNAP benefits are encouraged to check their eligibility and apply online or over the phone at (877) 382-2363. SNAP benefits received on behalf of others (e.g., your citizen child) are not considered in the public charge test. During the public health emergency, families are receiving additional monthly SNAP payments to bring them up to the maximum benefit level for their household size, which have temporarily been increased by 15%. That is $430 a month for a household of two and $782 a month for a household of four. Important Updates COVID-19 Cases in Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities (as of 3/25) Residents/Healthcare Workers of LTC Facilities 34,822 LTC Facilities Reporting at Least One Case of COVID-19 424 Deaths Reported in LTC Facilities 8,809 Department of Public Health Updates: Please share this brief survey to inform the next phase of our state campaign. Visit the survey link to help us: • Measure changes in vaccine hesitancy • Capture campaign awareness/recognition • Test preferred messaging for priority communities • DPH has been working with ‘trusted sources’ to promote COVID vaccination via video. The latest comes from Dr. Lloyd Fisher, president of the MA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and his daughter who COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT took part in vaccine trials. They are helping us amplify the “Trust the Facts, Get the Vax” message. See the video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PiwXq1L0dG9yyzSIZbfGG34nvlTvuNa_/view?usp=drivesdk • DPH issued the Weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Bulletin, for the week of 3/21. • DPH Epidemiology Line handled 392 COVID -19 calls and 59 non-COVID -19 calls for a total of 451 calls from 3/15 through 3/21. • As of 3/23, the Academic Public Health Volunteer Corps has 303 volunteers supporting 43 local boards of health. • MA211 received 5,453 calls from Monday 3/15 through Sunday 3/21 for a new total of 267,893. These numbers do not reflect calls to the new appointment assistance call centers. • All HMCC Regions are at Tier 2 status, in accordance with the DPH COVID-19 Resurgence Planning and Response Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals. DPH and the COVID-19 Command Center will continue to work closely with all regions to monitor hospital capacity statewide. • For the date range of 3/12 – 3/18 , 95 of 96 Massachusetts hospitals were 100% compliant in their COVID -19 data submissions to the DPH WebEOC portal which is submitted to the federal HHS Protect portal daily. • There are currently 10 Rapid Response Teams, comprised of nursing staff, deployed to nursing homes across the Commonwealth. Teams are also administering second doses of Pfizer vaccine to nursing and rest home residents and vaccinating at nursing homes that have a high number of residents that are unvaccinated. Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery Updates: Mass Care • 2 state contracted isolation/recovery hotels in the communities of Everett and Pittsfield continue to receive client placements: 54 individuals are currently housed in the program. o Top 5 referring cities: Boston (398) Worcester (194) Springfield (175) Quincy (123) Cambridge (118) o To date, a total of 2,223 residents have been placed in these hotels for safe isolation and recovery, an increase of 41 since last week. Community Food Box Program Update 3/19-3/25: MEMA is partnering with the Salvation Army, and a vendor, to bring in shelf-stable food boxes each week to support communities in their effort to deliver food to individuals and families in quarantine and isolation who require assistance accessing food. Each week MEMA’s warehouse receives a delivery of shelf-stable food boxes. Distribution of food boxes is coordinated between MEMA and communities in need via a request through WebEOC. The table below reflects the current food box inventory, and number of food boxes distributed to communities during the weekly reporting period (data is updated every Friday). Total Number of Food Boxes in MEMA’s Inventory Total Number of Food Boxes Distributed to One or More Local Communities During the Reporting Period Total Number of Communities that Received Food Boxes During the Reporting Period 2,731 216 2 Logistics (including Personal Protective Equipment and Supplies) COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT • 20 orders prepared for pickup or delivery from the MEMA Statewide Logistics Warehouse from 3/19- 3/25 • 130,000 KN95 masks were distributed to five Stop the Spread Sites on 3/19 and 3/22 (2 in Framingham , 1 each in Lynn, New Bedford, and Revere) • DPH coordinated 15 deliveries to health care entities on Tuesday (3/23) (15 BinaxNOW kits); 18 deliveries were made on Thursday (3/25) (2 testing supplies, 13 BinaxNOW kits, 1 vaccine supplies and 2 therapeutic) and 9 deliveries have been scheduled for Friday (3/26) (1 PPE, 7 BinaxNOW kits and 1 therapeutic). Disaster Recovery On March 27, 2020, the President declared a Major Disaster Declaration for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts related to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Through this declaration, federal aid will be made available to cities and towns, state agencies, and certain non-profits in all Massachusetts counties to help pay for emergency protective measures (response costs) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. MEMA’s Recovery Unit has developed a webpage with information and guidance on, but not limited to, disaster declaration, eligibility criteria, and the application process. Highlights from the Disaster Recovery process include the following: • FEMA Requests for Public Assistance (RPA): 664 (+1) • Technical Assistance Requests: 518 (+2) • Implementing coordinated regional approach to follow-up on all FEMA applications with outstanding Requests for Information (RFI) • Continuing to schedule meetings with entities involved in regional COVID-19 vaccination sites to ensure applicants are aware of FEMA Public Assistance guidance • New project obligations (16): $34,547,367.20 • FEMA released interim guidance on how the Funeral Assistance Program under FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance will be implemented. The program is expected to go live in early April. • Together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Economic Development Administration (EDA), MEMA held a webinar last week for stakeholders in rural Massachusetts. The webinar highlighted economic recovery programs related to the COVID pandemic and updates to existing recovery programs from the new administration. COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Weekly Update (current as of 3/23/21) ● The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke is in the midst of a search for a qualified permanent Superintendent, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services is working with an executive search firm to find qualified candidates. The final candidates are being interviewed this month and will need Board of Trustee approval. ● The Baker-Polito Administration is moving forward on the expedited capital project to plan for the future of the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, and the next step is passage of the $400 million bond bill which would provide capital authorization for the major project to reconstruct the long-term care facility at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. Secretary of Veterans’ Services Cheryl Lussier Poppe and EOHHS Assistant Secretary for Administration and Finance Alda Rego testified before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight in support of the bond bill last week, and it has since been repor ted favorably out of this committee. ○ The Commonwealth has been making capital investments to address the short and long-term needs of the Home, including a short-term Refresh Project, a $6 million refresh of units to significantly improve infection control for the residents and staff, and this longer-term Rapid Planning Capital Project (www.mass.gov/HolyokeSHProject) for a future Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. ○ This bond bill is the next step of the expedited capital project, following the recommendations laid out in the needs assessment report that was released on Veterans Day, following the Rapid Planning Phase. Payette Associates is the design firm leading the design and planning phase, building on the evaluation they previously completed, and developing a full project scope, refining the plan, confirming the budget, timelines, and ensuring conformity with the regulatory process. To meet the VA State Home Construction Grant’s April 15, 2021 deadline, the bond bill must be enacted by mid-March, with a terms bill filed and enacted soon afterwards. The design development phase must be completed by August 1, 2021 to be eligible for this cycle of the grant program. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke expanded in-person visitation hours into the evening on Wednesdays, now offering slots Tuesday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. ○ The Home re-opened in -person visitation for veteran residents and their loved ones, starting February 10, 2021, and since then has hosted 485 visitors. ○ The Home is implementing updated guidance from DPH to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents, staff, and those visiting. All visitors are screened and required to wear PPE and social distance, and negative test results are strongly encouraged before visiting. There is designated visitation space at each Home, and high touch surfaces are sanitized after each visit. ○ At least 24 slots will be offered each day, and visits are scheduled for at least 45 minutes. Visits can be scheduled by calling the Family Line at 413-552-4764. 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ○ The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke will also continue to offer and support virtual visitation. The Family Line is available for ad hoc updates with support from social work and clinical staff. Families can also request updates via email at CommunicationsMailbox -HLY@Mass.gov. ○ Note: The Soldiers’ Home can only share medical information about a resident with the authorized health care proxy on file. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke hosted 3 onsite vaccination clinics, the last on February 9. The first and second vaccination clinics were held on December 29 and January 19. Following the completion of the vaccination clinics: ○ 117 veteran residents and 220 staff have received both doses. ○ 1 veteran resident and 10 staff have received their first dose. ○ The Home is strongly encouraging all staff to receive the vaccine. On top of the efforts to provide educational information about the COVID-19 vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccine FAQ sheets, and vaccine informational forums with clinical staff, individuals who had not been COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT vaccinated received individual outreach to provide education and encourage vaccination. All educational materials are available in both English and Spanish. ● Phase III of the Refresh Project continues on the 4th Floor. The Refresh Project is an important infection control initiative to improve the home in the immediate term for residents and staff. ● The Soldiers’ Home continues to work with Home Base, a veteran support organization that is a partnership of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital, to help improve the quality of life, increase psychosocial interventions to address isolation during the pandemic. Home Base has linked us to interactive virtual concerts provided by professional and amateur volunteers, featuring musical performances and conversation between the Veterans and musicians. The concerts occur every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. The team at Home Base is working with Social Work, Recreation and Nursing to provide other opportunities for virtual activities. Home Base has extended their free veteran counseling offerings to our Soldier’s Home families and staff. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke is taking every precaution to mitigate COVID-19 entering and spreading at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. Based on guidance from DPH, and in consultation with infection control experts, the Home is continuing mandatory 2 times per week testing for all staff and residents. Increased testing frequency will allow us to detect COVID-19 early and will continue. ● In addition to mandatory testing at state-operated 24/7 facilities, daily symptom checking and routine staff surveillance testing are important tools to protect staff, residents and visitors and will remain in place until such time there is a medical breakthrough or widespread vaccination for COVID 19. Staff who are not feeling well are instructed not to come to work and to contact their health care provider. If staff show any signs of COVID-symptoms, they are required to self-quarantine at home, per CDC guidance for health care workers. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke has been intently focused on following infection control procedures and maintaining best practices for the safety of veteran residents and staff. All veteran residents’ health is being monitored and retesting is being conducted for veterans both on- and off-site as clinically appropriate. The Soldiers’ Home’s medical team is making all clinical decisions following the latest CDC guidance, which continues to evolve as the medical community learns more about this new virus. ● The Soldiers’ Home leadership is committed to ensuring the safety of the Veteran residents and restoring the Home to its rightful place that treats them with dignity, honor, and respect, and continues to rebuild staff and leadership. ● In June, the Baker-Polito Administration released the independent report ordered by Governor Baker to investigate the COVID -19 outbreak at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, and announced a series of reforms to strengthen its governance and oversight of the Home, improving staffing processes, providing quality care for our Veterans, and planning for significant capital improvements. ● The status of all residents as of March 23 is as follows: ○ Status : ■ 0 veteran residents are positive and not clinically recovered ■ 3 veteran residents are negative ■ 43 veteran residents have a pending test. Please note that all veteran residents and staff are now being tested twice weekly, which will increase the number of pending tests. ■ 71 veteran residents have been determined clinically recovered ■ 0 veteran residents have refused testing ○ Resident locations: ■ 112 veteran residents are onsite ■ 5 veteran residents are receiving acute care offsite ○ Since March 1, 2020, there have been 77 deaths of veteran residents who tested positive ● Following the most recent staff surveillance testing ○ 0 are positive ○ All others who previously tested positive are clinically recovered COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Chelsea Soldiers’ Home Weekly Update (current as of 3/23/21) ● The Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea has re-opened in-person visitation for veteran residents and their loved ones, starting February 10, 2021, and has since hosted 175 in-person visits with veterans. ● Visitation is offered 7 days a week 9 AM to 7:30 PM. The Home is implementing updated guidance from DPH to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents, staff, and those visiting. All visitors are screened and required to wear PPE and social distance, and negative test results are strongly encouraged before visiting. There is designated visitation space at each Home, and high touch surfaces are sanitized after each visit. ○ Eight visitation slots will be offered each day, and visits will be scheduled for at least 45 minutes long. ○ The Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea also continues to offer and support virtual visitation. ○ Families can request updates on their loved ones by contacting their assigned social worker, or emailing the Home at CSH@mass.gov. Medical information can only be shared with an authorized health care proxy. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea hosted 3 onsite vaccination clinics, the last on February 9. The first and second vaccination clinics were held on December 29 and 30, and January 19 and 20. Following the completion of the onsite vaccination clinics: ○ 159 residents and 208 staff have received both doses ○ 6 veteran residents and 67 staff have received their first dose. ● The Home remains vigilant in its infection control, including enhanced precautions throughout the facility and strict infection control protocols to keep veteran residents and staff safe, including continuing staff education, screening, and testing. ● Clinical staff closely monitor any changes in residents, and the Soldiers’ Home’s medical team is making all clinical decisions following the latest CDC guidance, which continues to evolve as the medical community learns more about this new virus. The CDC recommends making medical decisions regarding when to end isolation and determine that the patient has recovered based on symptoms and time elapsed. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea currently weekly staff surveillance testing. ● The Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea monitors the PPE supply, and continues to receive shipments of PPE. The Incident Command team at the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home continues to enforce staff use of personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as source PPE to ensure that residents and staff have access to critical safety equipment. The team continues to coordinate closely with the VA Health Care System. ● The status as of March 23 is as follows: ○ Residents ■ 0 veteran residents are positive ■ 126 veteran residents are negative ■ 48 veteran residents have recovered, meaning they previously tested positive and are now clinically recovered ■ 0 veteran residents have pending tests ■ Since March 1, 2020, there have been 31 deaths of veteran residents who tested positive ● Following the most recent staff surveillance testing: ○ 0 employees are positive ○ All other employees who previously tested positive have been determined clinically recovered COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Communications Resources Eligibility graphics • Use these new graphics for your newsletters and social media showing COVID-19 vaccine eligibility dates for everyone who lives, works, or studies in Massachusetts. Vaccine Equity Initiative website • Visit COVID -19 Vaccine Equity Initiative | Mass.gov for the latest on the initiative in 20 of our hardest hit communities to increase equity in COVID-19 vaccine awareness and access. FAQ for certain workers eligible in Phase 2 • Visit COVID -19 vaccinations for certain workers | Mass.gov for an FAQ and other COVID-19 vaccine eligibility requirements and information for workers in certain categories. Guidance for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 • Until more people are vaccinated, prevention measures will be necessary, even for individuals fully vaccinated. Review MA’s Guidance for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. CDC ‘plain language’ materials in multiple languages • Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines • Communication Resources for COVID-19 Vaccines • Myths and Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines • Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine Other Public Messaging Resources for Communities: The COVID-19 Command Center and DPH have produced many communication resources aimed at helping communities inform and educate residents on recent executive orders and guidance related to COVID -19. • Trust the Facts, Get the Vax Campaign Materials | Mass.gov • COVID -19 Vaccine Posters | Mass.gov • Preparing for your COVID-19 Vaccination Appointment flier | Mass.gov • Guide to hosting a forum on the COVID-19 Vaccine | Mass.gov Visitors to COVID-19 resources for municipalities webpage will find these new resources, and additional flyers, posters, and digital resources in multiple languages on topics such as: • When can I get the COVID-19 vaccine? • Vaccine Graphics • Statewide guidelines, advisories, and orders • Staying safe in the community • Using local public alert systems for COVID -19 information • Materials for Business, including: COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT o Return to work guidance o Employee Screening Questionnaire o Business guidance – New, Temporary Capacity Limits o Updated safe store tips for retailers Resources MassSupport MassSupport is the Massachusetts Crisis Counseling Program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and managed in partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and Riverside Trauma Center, a program of Riverside Community Care. Contact MassSupport by phone at 888-215-4920 or by email at MassSupport@riversidecc.org Red Cross Virtual Family Assistance Center In order to provide support to families and communities who have suffered loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Red Cross has developed a Virtual Family Assistance Center (VFAC), staffed by a team of specially trained mental health, spiritual care, and health services volunteers who are: • Connecting with families over the phone to offer condolences, emotional and spiritual support, and access to available resources • Providing support for virtual memorial services for families, including connecting with local faith-based community partners • Hosting online classes to foster resilience and facilitate coping skills • Assisting families with access to national, state, or local resources such as grief counseling, legal resources, funeral information, financial information services, or veterans’ assistance • Additional state- and local-specific resources are available. People can visit: https://www.redcross.org/virtual-family-assistance-center/ma-family-assistance-center.html to access this resource with special virtual programs, information, referrals, and services to support families in need. People without internet access can call toll-free 833-492-0094 for help. All Family Assistance Center support will be provided virtually and is completely confidential and free. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) now reports on the number of positive COVID- 19 cases as reported to the DESE by school districts (including charter schools), collaboratives, and approved special education schools. The data only represents what has been reported to DESE. For more information and to view the report people can visit: http://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/positive-cases/ COVID-19 Test Site Locator MEMA, in conjunction with the COVID-19 Command Center, has developed an interactive tool that shows the locations of COVID-19 testing sites around the Commonwealth. Massachusetts COVID-19 Response Dashboard MEMA has developed and maintains a public-facing COVID-19 ArcGIS Online dashboard, available here. This dashboard is continuously updated and captures information about current COVID 19 case counts, cases by age, cases by county, hospital status, hospital bed status, death tolls, and deaths by age. Users should refresh the dashboard daily as enhancements are continuously being added. Health care facilities can learn more about requesting personal protective equipment here. COVID-19 RESPONSE COMMAND CENTER WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT Stay Informed • Get information from trusted sources . Get notified by text, email, or phone call in your preferred language. Visit https://member.everbridge.net/index/406686158291020/#/signup to sign-up for AlertsMA for the latest news on the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19 • Take care of your emotional health: • Call 2-1-1 and choose the “CALL2TALK” option. • Samaritans is continuing operations 24/7, as always. During this unprecedented time, it can feel overwhelming to receive constant messages about COVID-19. Call or text their 24/7 helpline any time at 877-870-4673. • The Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year, national hotline dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster, including disease outbreaks like COVID-19. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the United States and its territories. How to Help Out • Donate to the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund The Need for Blood Donations Continues, and Recovered COVID -19 Donors Can Help Save Lives In coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Red Cross is seeking people who are fully recovered from the new coronavirus to sign up to donate plasma to help current COVID-19 patients. People who have fully recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus. This convalescent plasma is being evaluated as treatment for patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID -19 infections, or those judged by a healthcare provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or life-threatening condition. Interested individuals can visit RedCrossBlood.org/plasma4covid to learn more. The Red Cross follows the highest standards of safety and infection control, and volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need. To make an appointment to donate, please visit www.RedCrossBlood.org 617.556.0007 | 1.800.548.3522 | www.k-plaw.com | ©2021 KP Law, P.C. Governor Baker Updates the State Travel Order, the State Gatherings Order, and Advances all Communities to Phase IV of the Re-Opening Plan March 22, 2021 Advancement of all Communities to Phase IV, Step 1 As previously announced, Phase IV of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Plan takes effect today, March 22, 2021. Pursuant to COVID-19 Order No. 66, the following Phase IV, Step 1 enterprises may open their brick-and-mortar premises to workers, customers, and the public: Stadiums, arenas, and ballparks, and other large capacity venues (indoor and outdoor) use for spectator sports, entertainment, or similar performances; Exhibition and convention halls; Overnight camps (Summer 2021); and Dance floors at events only. Facilities that have capacities of 5,000 persons or more, as specified in a certificate of occupancy or some other equivalent authorization, are “large capacity venues” for the purposes of this Order. Large capacity venues may operate at 12 percent of permitted capacity, and must submit a COVID-19 safety plan for review by the Department of Public Health, at least 10 days prior to opening to the public. The state Department of Labor Standards will adopt sector-specific workplace safety rules for businesses opening in this phase of the Reopening Plan, as well as for event venues with less than 5,000 person capacities. Enterprises designated as Phase IV, Step 2 must keep their brick-and-mortar premises closed to the public, and may not conduct Phase IV activities until Step 2 of Phase IV. A date for the Phase IV, Step 2 transition has not been determined. A complete list of Phase IV enterprises can be located in Schedule A to COVID-19 Order No. 66. Replacement of Mandatory Travel Order with DPH Travel Advisory State officials have also replaced the 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers arriving in Massachusetts. The Department of Public Health has issued in its place an Advisory for Travelers to Massachusetts. Effective March 22, 2021, all visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, are advised to quarantine for 10 days upon their arrival. Travelers are exempt from this advisory if they have a negative COVID- 19 test result that has been administered up to 72 hours prior to their arrival in Massachusetts. Travelers are also 617.556.0007 | 1.800.548.3522 | www.k-plaw.com | ©2021 KP Law, P.C. exempt from this advisory if: (a) they are returning to Massachusetts after an absence of fewer than 24 hours; (b) are a worker who enters Massachusetts to perform critical infrastructure functions; or (c) they are fully vaccinated and do not have any symptoms of COVID-19. Adjustment to Gathering Limits Lastly, effective March 22, 2021, gatherings at event venues or in public settings are now limited to a maximum of 100 people indoors, and 150 people outdoors. The Governor’s March 22, 2021 Appendix Adjusting Gathering Limits Set in COVID-19 Order No. 63 defines “event venue or public setting” as any setting open to the public and any event venue, club, park, or other venue or space, public or private, that is used or available for gatherings through lease, license, permit, contract, or similar arrangement. Gathering limits for indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences remain the same: 10 people indoors, and 25 people outdoors. Please feel free to contact your KP Law attorney with any questions and/or e-mail us at coronavirusinfo@k- plaw.com. We will be in touch with you as soon as possible. Disclaimer: This information is provided as a service by KP Law, P.C. This information is general in nature and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Neither the provision nor receipt of this information creates an attorney-client relationship with KP Law, P.C. Whether to take any action based upon the information contained herein should be determined only after consultation with legal counsel. 617.556.0007 | 1.800.548.3522 | www.k-plaw.com | ©2021 KP Law, P.C. Archived: Friday, March 26, 2021 3:25:32 PM From: Vaira Harik Se nt: Thu, 25 Mar 2021 08:27:38 To: Sean O'Brien; Erika Woods; Phil Burt; Andrew Platt; Diana Gaumond; Deirdre Arvidson; Stephen Tebo; Beth Albert; Sonja Sheasley; Jack Yunits Jr.; Mike Maguire; Bill Traverse; Amy Alati; Lynn Mulkeen Cc: Cyr, Julian (SEN); Paula Schnepp; hnelson@duffyhealthcenter.org; Bethany Traverse; Patricia Cawley; Susan Mazzarella; jeffrey.soares@masenate.gov; pnadle@outercape.org; Karen Gardner; Nancy Bucken; Daniel Gray; Stephanie Prior; Sidhartha MD, Kumara; gjones@capecodhealth.org; wphinney@haconcapecod.org; Adam Burnett; Fleck, Rachel (CDA); Tom Cahir; Chris Kennedy; Chief Peter Burke; Kim Slade; Tracey Benson; drifmeyere@barnstablepolice.com; Suzie Hauptmann; mlauf@capecodhealth.org; Kevin Mulroy, DO; drodrigues@duffyhealthcenter.org; Elysse Magnotto-Cleary; Ryan Castle; timothy.whelan@mahouse.gov; Stephane Ruault; moliva@capecodcanalchamber.org; mkasparian@falmouthchamber.com; Barbara Cooper (CDC); Santibanez, Scott (CDC/DDID/NCEZID/DPEI); nelson.andrewsjr@mwtribe-nsn.gov; Phillips, Diana (EEC); cmenard@thefamilypantry.com; chrisf@capecodbuilders.org; Beth Waldman; Peake, Sarah - Rep. (HOU); sarah.ferrara@mahouse.gov; O'Brien, Nolan (Markey); Jessica Wong; michael.jackman@mail.house.gov; Dogan Temizir; paulhilton@capecodcollaborative.org; Gina Hurley; ciborowski_pam@mybps.us; Maria Coyne; Savannah Kelleher; slaye@mbl.edu; mtitas@gmail.com; karen.nolin@yahoo.com; Alicia Bryant; Group - Town Health Agents (3/17/21); Jocelyn Howard; lisa@wecancenter.org; Susan Moran; Maria Silva; Daniel Gray; Martha Taylor; Liz Kokernak; Betty Wong (CDC/DDPHSS/OS/OD); Elfriede Agyemang (CDC/DDPHSIS/CGH/DGHT); Allyssa Hathaway; Schulze, Frank (SEN); Johnson, Patrick (SEN); cjctodd@gmail.com; Dotty Caron; lpearson@sscac.org; Group - School Superintendents (@ 8/1/20); Group - COA Directors (7-1-20); Brooke Styche; Kenneth Cirillo; Donna Giberti; Group - Assembly of Delegates (08-17-20); Elizabeth Braccia; Sandy Faiman-Silva; brendan.dutch@masenate.gov; pauldart@pauseawhile.org; scott.mcgann@falmouthma.gov; Shaw, Christine; Gonsalves, Rita (IHS/NAS/MSH); sonnabendm@barnstablepolice.com; chrisf@capecodbuilders.org; cflanagan@town.dennis.ma.us; Nicole Taylor; Lawson, Christopher; Jim Golden; Joanne Geake; jgeake@sandwichmass.org; Meg Payne; Dan Gates; Rick Martin; Jill Brookshire; dhciavola@capecodhealth.org; Kristine Monteiro; Janet Schulte; melissa@nantucketchamber.org; Staniels, Jaime; kim.nahas@escci.org; Margaret Burke; Paul Speer; Liz Stapleton; Anna Marini; cdufault@monomoy.edu; htavano@monomoy.edu; asullivan@monomoy.edu; cfiocco@monomoy.edu; cmulhall@monomoy.edu; ssears@monomoy.edu; ascottputney@heritagemuseums.org; LAHesse@mycapecodbank.com; rccollins@mashpeema.gov; wtaylor@mashpeema.gov; tmcook@mashpeema.gov; Rep. Steve Xiarhos; Rita Mitchell (Public Health Nurse); barbaradominic612@gmail.com; Savanna Santarpio; Peckham, Ann-Marie; Endres, Sarah; Denise Galvin; denise.galvin@gmail.com; dgavron@outercape.org; Nicole Bartlett; Geoffrey Gorman; Lennon, Kevin; amulrow@heritagemuseums.org; Helen Grimm; Hope Hanscom; George Schmidt; Ashley Lopes; ecralston@chcofcapecod.org ; Matt Poole; healthagent@aquinnah-ma.gov; Marina Lent, Chilmark BOH; Meegan Lancaster; Maura Valley ; John Powers; rsantamaria@nantucket-ma.gov; beckie@wampanoagtribe.net; Caitlin Cantella; Michelle Aceto; Amy O'Leary; Edward Dunne (edward.dunne@falmouthpolicema.gov); preparednessgroup@capecodfive.com; Ronald Bergstrom; Sheila Lyons; Mark Forest; Janice O'Connell; Peter Lombardi; Patricia Palmer; Robyn Sweeting; Gina Torielli; Hillard Boskey; Group - CC Chamber of Commerce Board; kip.diggs@mahouse.gov; Kevin Howard; Foley, Brenda; bill@cataniahospitalitygroup.com; lisa@lisasellscapecod.com; elaineh@cssdioc.org; thomas.damario@mahouse.gov; Rep. Steve Xiarhos; Brad Schiff; Geoff Spillane; Beth Bullock-McGrail; Tapper, Abigail (DPH); amy@wellstrong.org; Jennifer Clarke; Danielle Alexandrov; gconran@conranpr.com; Poyant, Lynne; Noonan, Madeline; Hersey, Paula; Stephanie Costigan; Owen Fletcher; Sarah Bagley; Nancy Regan; jesse.mcwilliams@jud.state.ma.us; tavery6@hotmail.com; jtrabucco@bsheriff.net; guysalesman@gavinfoundation.org; williampimental@gavinfoundation.org; agottlieb@apcc.org; Carlstrom, Brian; chorgan@capecodchildrensplace.com; Christopher Adams; david.vieira@mahouse.gov; Deborah Aylesworth; Dotty Caron; dylan.fernandes@mahouse.gov; jbeebe@eastham-ma.gov; economicplanner@eastham-ma.gov; jerry.fishbein@1199.org; Julie Wake; Kristy Senatori; Lauf, Michael; Maguire, Emily (HOU); mark.ells@town.barnstable.ma.us; Peckham, Ann-Marie; pndzwk@comcast.net; rforget@uppercapetech.org; Sampson, David; Shareen Davis; Wendy Northcross; ercurry@eugenecurry.com; Anne Sigsbee, MD; Patricia Mitrokostas; speugh@ymcacapecod.org; Richard Corey; Dr. Suneel Dhand; Stasiowski, Carole A. (CSTASIOWSKI@PARTNERS.ORG); lulubelle2001@msn.com; Maria Syrniotis (Sen. Moran Chief of Staff); Wilson, Tara (SEN); Lawrence Nolan Subject: 3/25/21: Barnstable County and Regional COVID-19 Daily Update Se nsitivity: Normal (N.B. I am no longer attempting to tally new probable cases alongside new confirmed cases. I have not received information on probable cases s ince 12/6/20, at which time Barnstable County had logged a total of 531.) Good Morning All. Barnstable County is experiencing a renewed surge in cases and hospitalizations are increasing commensurately. The towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth have returned to the highest risk (red) category in terms of average 2-week new case numbers.\u8203 ? The first case of the Brazilian variant P1 has been announced in Massachusetts in Barnstable County (30 year-old female). The contribution in Barnstable County to the new case numbers of any variants is unknown at this time. In follow up to discussions between the relevant town health agents, the County, and the DPH, the DPH, with CCHC, has deployed additional testing resources to the mid-Cape region. SUMMARY: 1. New Cases: DPH new cases reported yesterday: Barnstable County: 73 new cases (cases continue to increase--mid-Cape sub-region) Martha's Vineyard: 7 new cases Nantucket: 13 new cases 2. Hospitalizations and Fatalities: 3-day avg. hospitalizations (now 27) has increased from 17 three weeks ago. 5 patients were in the ICUs Tuesday afternoon. There were 5 COVID fatalities reported yesterday. CCH and Falmouth Hospital re-opened to limited visitation in early March. The first week of March marked the one-year anniversary of the recognition of the first COVID case in Massachusetts.\u8203 ? In year 1 of this pandemic the Barnstable County Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 4%, behind only Berkshire and Franklin Counties (which are also remote, rural locales), and is markedly higher than the state CFR (2.8%). Recent data on COVID fatalities in Barns table County sugges t that residents of Long Term Care/Skilled Nursing Facilities/Rest Homes represent 42.5% of all fatalities (167 of 393 fatalities, as of 2/23/21). This is a lower percentage than that seen during phas e 1 of the pandemic last spring (over 65%), and this percentage continues to fall. Indeed, between 1/5/21 and 2/23/21 only 20% (28) of 137 fatalities occurred among LTC residents. 3. Schools and Childcare Centers: Due to the mildness of the flu season the DPH has removed the requirement that all school children receive a flu vaccination on or before 2/28/21. School districts remain in a hybrid learning model. However, DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has announced plans which will compel schools to return to 100% in-person learning, starting with elementary schools, in April. 4. Testing; Test Positivity Rates (14-day, as of 3/17/21): Barnstable County: 5.59% (vs. 3.22%) (higher vs. previous fortnight) Dukes & Nantucket Counties: 2.74% (vs. 1.53%) (higher) A test percent positivity rate below 5% suggests that an outbreak is on the way to containment. 5. Weekly Town Risk, and Statewide Cluster Analyses: See charts below. 6. Vaccination: \u8203 ? -Groups eligible for vaccination now are those in Phase 1, and Phase 2 age 60+, K-12 and early education/childcare teachers and staff, and certain workers (formerly termed essential workers; see table below), depending upon availability of vaccine. \u8203 ? -Caregivers (regardless of age) accompanying a 75+ person to their vaccination appointment remain eligible for vaccination and can receive vaccination under these circumstances at DPH mass vaccination sites. Local vaccination clinics may also allow this, but most are not doing so because of constrained vaccine supplies. -Vaccination at local clinics during Phase 2 are by appointment only and appointments are announced and able to be scheduled once County and local health authorities are sure of vaccine availability from the DPH. The public is being given notice of planned vaccination clinics for eligible persons in Phase 2. -Plans for 4-5 sub-regional mas s vaccination sites on Cape Cod, for operation during Phase 2, are in place. A Cape Cod Regional Vaccine Consortium has been established via a partnership between the Barnstable County Health Dept, Local Town Boards of Health (LBOHs), Community Health Centers (CHCs), and Cape Cod Healthcare, and has received support from the DPH. The Consortium has established a vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College (which opened this week) and is also working with LBOHs and CHC to organize in-reach to homebound persons to vaccinate them. The DPH is responsible for providing sufficient vaccine in order for the Consortium to reach its full potential. -The DPH has begun reporting vaccination progress age group and by town. Below is a summary table for Barnstable County by age group. 7. COVID Mutation and Changes in Transmissibility/Virulence/Other: There are four variants of concern: B117 (UK), B1351 (S. Africa), P1 (Brazil), and B1526 (New York City, which emerged in November). All four appear to be significantly more transmissible than the virus which dominated Wave 1 of the pandemic. Within two months of the B117 variant being identified in the UK (October) it became the dominant strain circulating there. The CDC is now posting surveillance information on the emergence of the B117 variant in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant-cases.html.\u8203 ? Existing vaccines may be less effective against these new strains. The degree to which this may be so is being investigated. Moderna and Pfizer are working on a booster shot to counter these new s trains. -B1526 now accounts for 40% of new cases in NYC -B117 and B1351 have been identified in Massachusetts. \u8203 ? -The first case with the P1 variant in Barnstable County (and MA) was identified in late February by CDC surveillance processes and announced by the DPH on 3/16. REPORT DETAIL: 1. New Cases Daily new case numbers in Barnstable County have moved upward again due to significant case increases in the towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth. 73 cases were reported yesterday The 7-day average new cases per 100,000 has increased to 40/100K, with Barnstable County acquiring an average of 85 cases per day over the past 7 days. Nantucket's 7-day average cas es per 100,000 population (now 44/100K) is also increasing again. On average (7-day) Nantucket is now picking up 5 new cases per day. 13 cases were reported yes terday. Martha's Vineyard's 7-day average cases per 100,000 population (17/100K) is increasing as well. On average Dukes County is gaining approximately 3 new cases per day. 7 cases were reported yesterday. Trailing 14-Day Testing and Cases by County: In the context of adequate availability of testing and contact tracing, which our three counties appear to have achieved, a test percent positivity rate below 5% suggests that an outbreak is on the way to containment. Rates below 3% and 1% are further important containment milestones. Test Positivity Rates (14-day, as of 3/17/21): Barnstable County: 5.59% (vs . 3.22%) (higher vs. previous fortnight) Dukes & Nantucket Counties: 2.74% (vs. 1.53%) (higher) 2. Hospitalizations and Fatalities Hospitalizations and acuity of illness are increasing once more, in train with the case spikes being seen in the mid-Cape region. Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital resumed limited visitation of inpatients in early March. The table below shows patient counts for Tuesday 3/23. Since DPH reporting of hospitalizations has a 2-day lag Tina Shaw of CCHC is providing me with more recent information (thank you Tina). Tuesday afternoon CCHC reported that there were 31 COVID patients in hospital, 5 of which were in the ICUs. Fatalities: 5 fatalities was reported yesterday. The total is 435. Recent data on COVID fatalities in Barns table County sugges t that residents of Long Term Care/Skilled Nursing Facilities/Rest Homes represent 42.5% of all fatalities (167 of 393 fatalities, as of 2/25/21). This is a lower percentage than that seen during phas e 1 of the pandemic last spring (over 65%), and this percentage continues to fall. Indeed, between 1/5/21 and 2/23/21 only 20% of the County's 137 fatalities occurred among LTC residents.\u8203 ? I will consolidate and update these data periodically. This month marks the one-year anniversary of the recognition of the firs t COVID case in Massachusetts .\u8203 ? In year 1 of this pandemic the Barnstable County Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is 4%, behind only Berkshire and Franklin Counties (which are also remote, rural locales), and is markedly higher than the state CFR (2.8%). 3. Schools and Childcare Centers School districts are staying vigilant and reacting well to new cases. School districts on the Cape and Islands are in a hybrid learning status, however DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has announced plans which will compel schools to return to 100% in-person learning, starting with elementary schools, in April. As such (and noted elsewhere), school and childcare teachers and staff became eligible for vaccinations on 3/11. DESE and the DPH (memo of 1/8/21) announced that they are seeking to introduce COVID-19 screening testing using a pooled strategy in the school setting. Schools may elect to participate by responding to a survey that DESE/DPH have pos ted. The status of this initiative is unclear at this time. For the 2020-2021 s chool year the DPH has mandated that all school children be vaccinated for seasonal influenza. This week the DPH extended the deadline for doing so from 12/31/20 to 2/28/21. This mandate has been canceled by the DPH. 4. Testing Additional testing locations in Barnstable County for both symptomatic and asymptomatic persons remain open in Falmouth at the Fairgrounds and in Hyannis at Cape Cod Hospital (the Melody Tent site has been given over to vaccination clinics). Daily testing capacity is 50 at the Falmouth site and 350 at the Hyannis site. Neither site is open daily and persons must call ahead for an appointment. Details: https://www.capecodhealth.org/medical-services/infectious-disease/coronavirus/covid-19-testing-process/. In late December additional tes ting by Outer Cape Community Health Services began and continues at its 3 locations in Wellfleet, Harwich Port, and Provincetown (https://outercape.org/2020/12/23/outer-cape-health- services-to-offer-covid-19-asymptomatic-testing-beginning-december-23/). The Community Health Center of Cape Cod is also offering testing at its locations . These sites may not open be daily and persons must call ahead for an appointment. Eligibility criteria for the testing include residency in Barnstable County. Testing is done by appointment only. Tests cost $75, $110 for travel-related tests , and no one will be turned away if unable to pay for a test. DPH-mandated routine testing in skilled nursing facilities/long term care settings (SNF/LTC) continues. This provides critical surveillance and allows these facilities to stay ahead of asymptomatic spread amongst staff and residents. Routine testing in SNF/LTC settings is conducted weekly for staff. In addition, the State's BinaxNOW rapid testing program (available to schools) has been extended to visitors of nursing homes and rest home residents (LTC settings) to allow visitation of residents while limiting the risk of infection from visitors. DPH has published guidance on this. The program has als o been extended to homeless shelters and management of these facilities may apply to the EEC and DPH for testing kits. 5. Weekly Town Risk and Statewide Cluster Analyses 6. Vaccination \u8203 ?Groups eligible for vaccination now are those in Phase 1, and Phase 2 age 60+, K-12 and early education/childcare teachers and staff, and certain workers (formerly termed essential workers; see table below), depending upon availability of vaccine. Caregivers (regardless of age) accompanying a 75+ person to their vaccination appointment remain eligible for vaccination and can receive vaccination under these circumstances at DPH mass vaccination sites. Local vaccination clinics may also allow this, but most are not doing so because of cons trained vaccine supplies. The DPH has released the timeline by which all remaining groups will become eligible for vaccination: Timeline for remaining groups: March 22nd : Residents 60+ and certain workers (see https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-vaccinations-for-certain-workers) April 5th : Residents 55+ and residents with one certain medical condition April 19th: General public ages 16 years of age and older Vaccination at local clinics during Phase 2 is by appointment only and appointments are announced and able to be scheduled once County and local health authorities are sure of vaccine availability from the DPH. The public is being given notice of planned vaccination clinics for eligible persons in Phase 2. Appointments (https://www.cic-health.com/vaccines-location) may not be immediately available due to overwhelming demand and s till-limited supply of vaccine from the manufacturers. Appointments for local vaccination clinics are only being scheduled once County and local health authorities can be sure of vaccine availability from the DPH. The public is being given notice of planned vaccination clinics for eligible persons in Phase 2. Vaccination is available at several State-run mass vaccination sites around Massachusetts. The closest ones to Cape Cod are at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro and in Dartmouth. Appointments can be scheduled by visiting https://www.cic-health.com/vaccines-location, or calling 2-1-1 and following the prompts if the citizen does not have access to/or cannot operate on the internet. -Plans for 4-5 sub-regional mass vaccination sites on Cape Cod, for operation during Phase 2, are in place. A Cape Cod Regional Vaccine Consortium has been established via a partnership between the Barnstable County Health Dept, Local Town Boards of Health (LBOHs), Community Health Centers (CHCs), and Cape Cod Healthcare, and has received support from the DPH. The Consortium has established a vaccination site at Cape Cod Community College and is also working with LBOHs and CHC to organize in-reach to homebound persons to vaccinate them. The DPH is responsible for providing sufficient vaccine in order for the Consortium to reach its full potential. Harbor Health Services, Inc. (Hyannis) will join the other three Federally Qualified Community Health Centers on Cape Cod in offering vaccination clinics. The State has contracted with CVS and Walgreens to arrange vaccination of older adults in SNFs/congregate care. CVS, Walgreens, and Stop & Shop pharmacies are also s cheduling vaccinations for the groups in Phase 2, again depending upon vaccine supply. The DPH is providing weekly reports of vaccination progress age group and by town. I will consolidate and update these data periodically. 7. COVID Mutation and Changes in Transmissibility/Virulence/Other The emergence of a variant of the COVID-19 virus in the UK, classified as B.1.1.7, was identified in September and publicized in early December. Reports hold that B117 is 50% - 70% more contagious than our predominant variant now circulating (D614G). Within three months of the variant being identified in the UK it became dominant strain circulating there. Additional variants of concern have emerged internationally: B1351 (South Africa) and Brazil (P1) which are also highly transmissible. An additional variant, B1526, emerged in New York City in November. Its features are being studied. All variants appear to be significantly more transmissible than the virus which dominated Wave 1 of the pandemic. The first three variants are spreading globally and have been detected in the US. The B1526 (NYC) variant now accounts for 40% of new cases in New York City. The B117, B1351, and P1 variants have been identified by the DPH as being in circulation in MA.\u8203 ? \u8203 ?The first case with the P1 variant in Barnstable County (and MA) was identified in late February by CDC surveillance processes and announced by the DPH on 3/16. Researchers are working to determine if the variants differ from D614G (the Wave 1 configuration) in terms of: 1. How sick people become, 2. If natural immunity is different following infection with D614G, and 3. If immunity from vaccination differs since the vaccine was developed during the period that D614G has been predominant. The existing vaccines may be less effective against the new strains. Moderna and Pfizer are working on booster shots to counter these new strains. The CDC is posting surveillance information on the emergence of the variants in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant-cases.html. ______________________ Vaira Harik, M.S. Deputy Director Barnstable County Dept. of Human Services Cell: 520-271-6314 Email: vharik@barnstablecounty.org Weekly Count of New COVID-19 Infections: March 8, 2020 – March 20, 2021 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 3/8-3/143/15-3/213/22-3/283/29-4/44/5-4/114/12-4/184/19-4/254/26-5/25/3-5/95/10-5/165/17-5/235/24-5/305/31-6/66/7-6/136/14-6/206/21-6/276/28-7/47/5-7/117/12-7/187/19-7/257/26-8/18/2-8/88/9-8/158/16-8/228/23-8/298/30-9/59/6-9/129/13-9/199/20-9/269/27-10/310/4-10/1010/11-10/1710/18-10/2410/25-10/3111/1-11/711/8-11/1411/15-11/2111/22-11/2811/29-12/512/6-12/1212/13-12/1912/20-12/2612/27-1/21/3-1/91/10-1/161/17-1/231/24-1/301/31-2/62/7-2/132/14-2/202/21-2/272/28-3/63/7-3/133/14-3/201 5 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 2 3 0 1 4 1 3 6 6 13 22 11 7 20 24 25 53 24 20 8 8 5 10 12 17 0 0 3 3 7 53 14 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 1 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 New Brewster COVID-19 Cases Resident (340 Total)Long Term Care (108 Total staff & patients) Ages of Brewster Residents with Active COVID-19 Infections March 7-March 13 0-9 years (0) 0%10-19 years (0) 0% 20-29 years (3) 25% 30-39 years (5) 42% 40-49 years (1) 8% 50-59 years (1) 8% 60-69 years (2) 17% 70-79 years (0) 0% 80+ years (0) 0% 0-9 years (0) 10-19 years (0) 20-29 years (3) 30-39 years (5) 40-49 years (1) 50-59 years (1) 60-69 years (2) 70-79 years (0) 80+ years (0) 0-9 years (0) 0% 10-19 years (2) 12% 20-29 years (3) 17% 30-39 years (2) 12% 40-49 years (3) 17% 50-59 years (2) 12% 60-69 years (3) 18% 70-79 years (1) 6% 80+ years (1) 6%0-9 years (0) 10-19 years (2) 20-29 years (3) 30-39 years (2) 40-49 years (3) 50-59 years (2) 60-69 years (3) 70-79 years (1) 80+ years (1) March 14-March 20 % COVID Infections in Age Groups % COVID Infections in Age Groups Brewster Select Board Meeting of March 29, 2021 Consent Calendar Items Meeting Minutes: March 10, 2021 Joint Finance Committee Meeting ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board approve the meeting minutes of March 10, 2021 as presented. Appointments: Tenure Appointments (Police Officer and Keeper of the Lockup) for Officers Jessica R. Ahlman and Stephen J. Hathaway ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board vote to appoint Jessica R. Ahlman and Stephen J. Hathaway as Police Office and Keeper of the Lockup for their tenure appointment. Refinance of Affordable Deed Restricted Home The Select Board is asked to approve the mortgage refinance request of Ms. Hempstead for 114 Eaton Lane, an affordable home purchased with a Brewster Buy -down award. The affordable deed restriction requires the approval of the Select Board for a mortgage refinance. The new mortgage is at a lower interest rate and meets the guidelines requ ired for refinance approval. Documentation has been provided to the Housing Coordinator. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board approve the refinance of an affordable deed restricted home at 114 Eaton Lane. Fee Waiver Request: a) Brewster Housing Authority – Permit Fees for Brewster Woods In accordance with the revised Fee Waiver Policy #5 B1, as a Town sponsored project, a request for the waiver of the following fees associated with the Brewster Woods project; $330 for Phase I and approximately $26,224.00 for Phase II, as outlined in the attached memo. Inspection fees will be paid by Delphi Construction b) Brewster Conservation Trust - Special Permit Application for 409 Great Fields Road BCT is respectfully requesting a waiver or consideration of reduction of the $3500 filing fee to the Planning Department. This project will result in the protection of over 25- acres of Open Space. In accordance with the revised Fee Waiver Policy #5 B2 they are eligible for a $1000 fee waiver/reduction. c) Brewster Housing Authority - Building Permit Fees for Sunny Pines The total fees for this project are $3,600 per the Building Department. In accordance with the revised Fee Waiver Policy #5 B1 as a Town spondered project they are eligible for a full fee waiver/reduction. d) Brewster White Caps - Recycling Center Fees The Brewster White Caps wishes to dispose of an old and unusable mowing tractor. This tractor was discovered while making the recent upgrades at the ball field. After discussion with the DPW it was determined the cost of disposal would be under $50.00. 1 8. Consent Agenda Brewster Select Board Meeting of March 29, 2021 Consent Calendar Items 2 In accordance with the revised Fee Waiver Policy #5 B2 they are eligible for a fee waiver of up to $1000, which will well cover the cost of the disposal. e) First Parish Brewster UU - Beach Permit Fee First Parish Brewster UU is requesting the waiver of the $50.00 beach permit fee to hold an Easter Sunday sunrise service. Proper Covid-19 protocol will be in place for the service, and they are anticipating no more than 20 guests. In accordance with the revised Fee Waiver Policy #5 B2 they are eligible for a fee waiver of $50.00. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board approve the about fee waiver requests, after consultation and approval from all relevant department heads. 2021 Razor Clam Regulations The Natural Resources Department has submitted the 2021 Razor Clam Regulation for Select Board approval. Changes to the regulations from the prior year have been highlighted. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board approve the 2021 Razor Clam Regulations as proposed by the Natural Resources Department. Second Letter to Gov. Baker Urging More COVID Vaccine for Cape Cod As a third escalation of positive Covid-19 cases is rising, and only a little over 5% of Brewster residents have been vaccinated as of March 18, 2021 Chair Chaffee has drafted a second letter to Governor Baker urging him to expand additional vaccination and testing resources on Cape Cod. ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION We recommend the Board approve the Chair to sign and send the included letter as drafted to Governor Baker. Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 1 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator JOINT MINUTES OF THE SELECT BOARD & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: March 10, 2021 TIME: 6:00 PM PLACE: Virtual Meeting only PRESENT: Select Board: Chair Chaffee, Selectperson deRuyter, Selectperson Bingham, Selectperson Whitney, Selectperson Chatelain; Finance Committee: Chair Pete Dahl, Vice Chair Frank Bridges, Clerk Bill Meehan, Honey Pivirotto, Bob Young, Andrew Evans, Robert Tobias; Town Administration: Town Administrator Peter Lombardi, Assistant Town Administrator Donna Kalinick, Finance Director Mimi Bernardo; School Presenters: Erin Orcutt, Business Administrator Cape Cod Tech; Joanna Hughes, Principal Orleans Elementary; Keith Gauley, Principal Stony Brook Elementary; Tom Conrad, Superintendent Nauset Schools; Giovanni Venditti, Director of Finance and Operations, Nauset Schools ABSENT: Alex Hopper Call to Order/ Meeting Participation Statement Chair Chaffee called the meeting to order at 6:00pm, conducted a roll call vote of attendance, declared a quorum present, and read the meeting participation and recording statements. Chair Dahl called the meeting of the Finance Committee to order at 6:03pm. Public Announcements and Comment: None Presentation of and Discussion of FY22 Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Operating Budget Erin Orcutt, Business Administrator Cape Cod Tech, presented the High School’s Operating Budget to the Joint Committee. She said she was chosen this year by Bob Sanborn, Superintendent Cape Cod Regional Tech. The budget has been approved locally by the School Committee. The budget is based on enrollment and the school saw a significant increase of 10 students this year, with 626 students as of 10/6/20. She went through the demographics of where their students come from, Brewster having one of the biggest increases at 6.5% of students, which is up over last year. They are at the height of enrollment over the past 6-7 years. This presented budget is a 1.99% increase over last year’s fiscal Operating Budget. After the pandemic, we did readjust our budget to a total Operating Budget of $15,812,000 which is $308,000 over the previous year’s budget. Member assessments make up 80% of our Operating Budget. 17.1% comes in the form of State Aid. 3% comes from Local Funding. A significant use of E&D funds to try to reduce the overall assessments to the Town, with approximately $420,000 taken to offset next year’s budget. 78% of our budget consists of Salaries and benefits. What is left is divided between transportation, plant operations, and Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 2 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator student support services. Retirement assessment makes up 3% of our budget, Insurance benefits total over 10% of budget. She said they make the most of the funds they have. They are allowed to carry up to almost 5% of next year’s budget in Reserve. E&D was almost 3% of that amount. The OPEB Trust Fund – FY22 Budget funded $200,000 toward OPEB. Peter Lombardi asked if Erin Orcutt was a member of the CC Municipal Health Group. She said she is and has been for several years. He wondered how she is handling health insurance increase for next year. Erin Orcutt cut herself a little short, not seeing any other way to do things. Peter wondered if in the end, their plan assumes the 1.5% premium increase. Erin Orcutt replied yes. Chair Chaffee asked about the sources for local revenues. Erin Orcutt replied through interest income, facility rental, parking lot rental, and dedicating use of the E&D Fund. Frank Bridges asked about the E and D balance, $420,000 this year, if that was after the charge for this year or before? Erin Orcutt said the balance was certified as expected use for next year’s budget. Frank continued that we are looking at the retirement assessment, the lowest assessment since 2018, so that means $90,000 has come out of the assessment and wondered how that happened. Erin Orcutt said it is because some of the classified employees have come out. MA Teachers Retirement Association has changed their policy. Her HR person has been making sure their teachers are going through the MA Teachers Retirement instead of the Barnstable Teachers Retirement which was a huge relief. Bill Meehan asked how the projected enrollment compared to the total capacity of the facility. Erin Orcutt said the facility was built for 650 students, but could go over that by 15-20 students. Pete Dahl said he had one question – the Building Improvement Fund was set at $150,000 – what would the improvements be as the building is brand new. Erin Orcutt said the amount includes the grounds as well. They are trying to tackle things like score boards, updating fields (only updated one so far), landscaping projects, etc. She said they didn’t put them into the building originally because they knew they could tackle them with their own crew over time. There were things we didn’t account for in the building project, and now that they are in the building, they see they need them. Pete Dahl said one of the things that really impressed him about the old building was how well it was kept up throughout its life. He also thanked Erin Orcutt for the well put together and thought out budget. At this point, Chair Chaffee asked if there were any members of the public who would like to speak. None were seen. Presentation of and Discussion on FY22 Brewster Elementary Schools Operating Budgets Superintendent Conrad opened the presentation by saying a little about the challenges faced this year. There Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 3 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator has been some great work accomplished over this past year. The Monday of the first week after shut-down, Food Services had tents set up in all four communities. They produced and passed out over 200,000 meals going into the summer. They produced hot meals for elderly shut-ins which accumulated to over 3,000 meals. The summer program pushed out almost 30,000 meals for students throughout our communities. Superintendent Conrad said this was a remarkable effort and something of which we should all be proud. Our administrative team worked all summer long, with no time off, staying on course to get these schools open again. Our teachers and support staff spent so much time working on mandates and procedures needing to be put in place. It was amazing, and they did a fantastic job. Joanna Hughes, Principal Eddy Elementary School; Keith Gauley, Principal Stony Brook Elementary School went through their budget presentations for the committees. We were able to come in at a combined budget of slightly less than 0%. They have a vision for hiring a Spanish/World Cultures Teacher. Also the additional of 50% adjustment Counselor position which brings Brewster Elementary Schools to 1.5 Adjustment Counselors – for social and emotional supports for our students and families as they re-enter the school systems. An ongoing project, where Brewster is leading the way, is the Creative Learning Program which is an offshoot of MIT, giving students the 21st Century skills that are so hard to teach at young ages, and we are leading the way in the district right now. An ongoing goal we always have is integrating technology into our education – especially at this juncture with remote learning being so important. Keith Gauley went over the current enrollment numbers – broken out by In-Person, Remote, and Home School – which is even more pertinent this year. The Overall Budget for the elementary Schools: Stony Brook $4,222,581 and due to the savings in Special Education costs and some retirements, the Eddy $3,728,907 – Totaling $7,951,488 which is -0.25% from last year. Honey Pivirotto wondered about the positions under Specialists and also Stipends. Joanna Hughes said as an example, the Technology Teacher works all day long to help the students and teachers, but also reports at the District Level and then works after hours to do more. Those duties beyond the school day such as repairing devices, etc. are considered in that stipend budget line for responsibilities beyond the school day. These teachers are considered subject coordinators. Robert Tobias asked about having to abandon classrooms due to lack of ventilation in the schools. Joanna Hughes said she doesn’t have an empty room anywhere. Keith Gauley answered that Stony Brook abandoned rooms in the center of the building – Professional Development and an Art Room. Bob Young was looking at the grant total lines – regular day and special education – regular day has more control over dollars spent where special education has less control dependent on needs of each student. Keith Gauley said that was true to a great extent. Bob Young said he understands there is a movement out of the Eddy School to the Middle School which resulted in a $300,000 savings being reinvested into the Regular Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 4 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Day Programs and asked to have that explained. Keith Gauley said there is some flexibility with some individuals changing rolls from year to year, with the World Language and additional Adjustment Counselor are long term propositions. Bob Young also asked about the line reserved for negotiation on each of the budgets because it sounds high when he thinks about what potential increases are. Superintendent Conrad said they are in a situation where they are in negotiations right now, in general terms the COLA increases right now. They have set aside a number that they feel reasonable. They are carrying a number for this current year and a number put into reserve for next year. Bob Young asked if it were fair looking at this number relative to salary numbers. Superintendent Conrad said he thinks there will be some money coming back, but he cannot say for sure. Peter Lombardi wanted to follow up about Special Education – we are benefiting from the reduction on out- of-district placements, which has provided us some much needed capacity to deliver the level services budgets on the Town side. There is the ability to create a Special Education Stabilization Fund. Schools don’t have as much control over year to year. It is a good conversation to have going forward. He wondered whether they could set up a fund like that specifically for Brewster Schools or just for Regional. Peter Lombardi said he is consulting with Legal and this is something to keep on our radar to mitigate against a major increase in special education from one year to the next which crowds out a lot of other important funding considerations. Superintendent Conrad said he is in agreement with the importance of finding some way to help ourselves in terms of these potential situations where students come in during the school year and we are hit with large numbers we have to come up with for those services. Pete Dahl asked if the School Committee has to approve Home Schooling, how involved are they in that at this time. Keith Gauley said there is a form from every school that included background with the programs they are using. He said they sign off on those plans and return them to the parents. Pete Dahl said it is an unusual year and thanked everyone for all of their efforts. He is proud of the work they have done for keeping our students improving and in school. At this point, Chair Chaffee asked if there were any public comments – none were seen. She then thanked Joanna Hughes and Keith Gauley for their leadership. Presentation of and Discussion on FY22 Nauset Regional School District Operating Budgets Giovanna Venditti, Director of Finance and Operations for Nauset Schools walked the Committees through their presentation. The Budget was voted on and approved last week. Middle School Budget $8,663,380 2.5% increase High School Budget $12,155,584 2.5% increase Region Only Budget $10,287,050 .91% decrease (premium holiday for insurance and 2 out of district placements in special education caused this primarily) Region’s Share of Central Office $1,151,988 4.2% increase Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 5 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Chair Chaffee asked for clarification for viewers that if the School Building Project doesn’t pass, that would lead to a significant increase in one line item. Giovanna Venditti replied it was because they would need to make a big principle payment on the principle of the bond anticipation note. Peter Lombardi said it is counterintuitive that our debt will increase more than it would if the expansion does pass. He also said it was related to debt, we were surprised to see the debt increase a ban for the High School project, relative if there would be impact to the tax rate for the project. He said the debt wouldn’t be issued and the impact to the tax rate until FY24. Realizing that it is not a significant number, but nonetheless, a $9M ban, if project were approved, an initial payment of $50,000 in terms of Brewster’s debt which would be excluded debt. Is that accurate to say? She answered that was correct. Peter Lombardi also asked about the possible $20,000 credit on our assessment next year through the State if legislation is passed. He wondered approximately how much for the region and what the plans for them are if adopted. Giovanna Venditti said it is making its way through the legislative process, she prepared the calculation – $576,918 – 75% of that allocation for Brewster’s share would be $209,072. The Select Board would vote to access these funds where the school district would reduce the town’s debt by those amounts. It is a Select Board vote, not a School Committee vote. There is more funding coming due to the legislation passing this week. Bill Meehan said he noticed that the annual presentation succeeds at coming in at or just under a 2.5% increase in budget. He asked where that number originated. Giovanna Venditti said they will research that and get back to the Finance Committee. Superintendent Conrad responded that they get guidance from each of the towns where they would like to see the budgets come in at and we are trying to find a balance to the robust program year in and year out but also be a good partner in watching the funding as well. Bill Meehan said his concern is that it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is a question - where does it come from, where is it written, and how do we address it? Superintendent Conrad said each of the towns give them what they would like to see and what the Boards are looking for and 2.5% is a common denominator. The escalator we have to pay attention to is our special education costs. Honey Pivirotto had a couple of questions – first, she wondered if there was anything budgeted in transportation for Choice Students. Giovanna Venditti replied they do provide some transportation for the Choice Students, but she doesn’t have that broken out. She can request that specific information if needed. Honey Pivirotto also noticed in the response to the Finance Committee submitted questions, those questions related to fixed versus variable, the response is “budgets aren’t presented in that manner.” Can you give us your best guess if you don’t have hard numbers? Giovanna Venditti said she doesn’t have that – she would have to go through each line item. Honey Pivirotto wondered if that wasn’t something that’s been calculated, and could Giovanna make an educated guess. Giovanna Venditti said she would not feel comfortable doing so. Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 6 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Bob Young had a query coming back around to the 2.5% budget increase and wondered when they consider how to budget and what resources there are, do we do benchmarking as to how we are spending our resources as other districts spend their resources? Superintendent Conrad said no they do not. Bob Young said when he looks at the middle school and the high school reserve for negotiation, the middle school is almost $500,000 reserve for negotiation and that is 7.5% total salary budget which comes out at 2.5% and the high school is $864,809 which is 8.6% of salary budget, added together $1.350M in reserve for negotiation. Which means we are looking at about $1M in reserve for negotiation that would be unused. What happens to that $1M? Giovanna Venditti said the amounts are for two fiscal years. Once negotiations are finalized, we will go in and allocate for FY21 and FY22. If there are any remaining funds, they remain in those budgets. If the middle school has $5,000 more than what is needed, those dollars are available for use in FY21. Whatever is not used goes back to E&D for the year. If the E&D balance ends up greater than 5%, we need to reduce the towns’ assessments by that overage. Peter Lombardi asked important to acknowledge when using the E&D balance, once that money is in the budget, it can be a challenge backing it out. Giovanni Venditti said that is right, they have had a couple of very good years where there was substantial savings in the regional budget. There have been things that have enabled us to keep E&D where it is. Right now, it is at $1.7M, take out $947,000, it would leave us with $723,000 in E&D which is low if you look at historic numbers of where the State certified our E&D, this is a low number. We will have to make some tough decisions over the next couple years. This is not sustainable taking almost $1M out of E&D. Pete Dahl wanted to call attention to the Employer Share Health Insurance in region only - it appears FY17 and FY18, we over budgeted by $8M and the next fiscal year, we over budgeted by $2M. Over 3 years, that line item is over budgeted by over $2M. In the current fiscal year 2019/2020, they are looking for that same amount. Giovanna Venditti said we budget for the full amount on the region-only budget and reduce that by what gets charged directly on the revolving accounts. If we look at the actual, it doesn’t tie into what is budgeted because we are charging the revolving accounts directly for those costs. We use these funds to offset these expenses. Pete Dahl said that’s a lot of money to be off budget, perhaps this is something that needs to be examined and changed. Pete Dahl went on to say he would like a public explanation about School Choice. He doesn’t understand how Brewster can be charged an extra $1.5M to educate these children in School Choice. It doesn’t make fiscal sense or psychological sense. It is really central to this idea of the school too, this isn’t what we are talking about tonight, however, we are talking about the Operating Budget designed around Brewster being billed $11,743,855 to educate our students, and that is $23,072 per student. Superintendent Conrad invited him to come next Wednesday night to a Forum on School Choice at 6:30PM where there will be a number of people who can speak to that. Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 7 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Chair Chaffee asked if there was any public comment at this time regarding the FY22 Operating Budget. Chris Easley, Chair of the Nauset School Building Committee said there is a lack of understanding of how the school budgets as required by the State and by DESE, and he has concern that there seems like there is excess funding for teachers and there just isn’t. Each year we are under financial scrutiny, and we submit to accounting standards each year. He is concerned that there isn’t understanding for budgeting for the region. Chair Chaffee asked for any further comments. Selectperson Bingham said she believes this is the last time Superintendent Conrad will be here before he retires. She offered congratulations and said he deserves his retirement. Selectperson DeRuyter said Cindy took the words right out of his mouth – we need to recognize Superintendent Conrad’s contribution to the district over the course of the better part of the last three decades. Thank you, the Nauset School District and all the member communities and beyond are far better for your service. Congratulations and enjoy your retirement. Chair Chaffee thanked Superintendent Conrad and Giovanna Venditti. Review of FY22 Budget Workshop Follow-up Items Peter Lombard said this was to follow-up on our all day budget workshop – there were several items and questions from that day which are included in the packet. High level, we provided additional info around grant awards the town has received this year, recognizing it has helped us on both the operating and capital sides. The questions around dollar amount for fees that have been waived on ambulance service, also data on permits sold for transportation, beaches and shell fishing, as well as some solid waste and recycling data, supporting materials for updated info from State and Regional entities that have impacted our assessments from Cape Cod Commission, mosquito control, etc. They are relatively small dollar amounts, but those changes have been made to the budget. Chair Chaffee thanked the Finance Committee and asked Chair Pete Dahl to adjourn their meeting. Finance Committee member Bill Meehan moved to adjourn at 8:30 pm, Frank Bridges second. The Committee voted 7-Yes, 0-No. Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair None. Questions from the Media None. Next Select Board Meetings: Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 www.brewster-ma.gov SB/FinCom Joint 03-10-21 Page 8 of 8 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Next Finance Committee Meetings: March 17th, 24th, 31st Adjournment Selectperson deRuyter moved to adjourn at 8:31 pm, Selectperson Chatelain second. The Board voted 5-Yes 0-No. Respectfully submitted, Beth Devine Approved: _______________ Signed: _______________________________________ Date Selectperson Bingham, Clerk of the Board of Selectman Approved: _______________ Signed: _______________________________________ Date Bill Meehan, Clerk of the Finance Committee Packet of additional documents on website for public review. Archived: Friday, March 26, 2021 3:02:29 PM From: Jill Scalise Se nt: Tue, 23 Mar 2021 15:35:21 To: Mary Chaffee; Peter Lombardi Cc: Robin Young; Donna Kalinick Subject: Request for item on the Select Board Agenda for 3.29.21 Meeting Se nsitivity: Normal Attachments: 114 Eaton Lane Refinance Request for Select Board 3.29.21.docx; REFINANCING YOUR FIRST MORTGAGE OR OBTAINING A SECOND MORTGAGE BREWSTER BUYDOWN.pdf; Dear Mary, The Town has a request from an affordable home owner for Select Board approval to refinance a mortgage. Attached is a letter to the Select Board providing information regarding the request and a recommendation for approval. (Please note, this letter is unsigned as I am at home. Tomorrow, I will go to the office, sign the letter, and provide a PDF of the signed letter for the Select Board packet.) The home owner’s request meets the guidance from DHCD for approval of a mortgage refinance. This particular home was a market rate home purchased with Buy-down funds and now has an affordable deed restriction where the Town of Brewster is the only monitoring agent. Attached is the procedure for refinancing a Brewster Buy-down affordable home. Previously, approval of an affordable mortgage refinance has been a consent item on the Select Board agenda. Below is a description for the refinance request as a consent item. Consent item for the Select Board: Refinance of affordable home at 114 Eaton Lane- The Select Board is asked to approve the mortgage refinance request of Ms. Hempstead for 114 Eaton Lane, an affordable home purchased with a Brewster Buy-down award. The affordable deed restriction requires the approval of the Select Board for a mortgage refinance. The new mortgage is at a lower interest rate and meets the guidelines required for refinance approval. Documentation has been provided to the Housing Coordinator. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information. Thank you, Jill Jill Scalise Housing Coordinator Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 508-896-3701 ext. 1169 Effective March 9, 2021, until further notice: Based on current state guidance and public health data, Brewster Town Offices are open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular business hours. Residents and visitors are urged to continue to access town services remotely if possible. Phone messages and email communications will continue to be answered promptly. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. For the latest updates on Town services, please visit www.brewster-ma.gov. TOWN OF BREWSTER AFFORDABLE BUY DOWN PROGRAM REFINANCING YOUR FIRST MORTGAGE OR OBTAINING A SECOND MORTGAGE Dear Brewster Buy Down Affordable Homeowner: The following is a summary on how to refinance your first mortgage or to obtain a second mortgage under the Brewster Buy Down Affordable Deed Restriction program. Please note that before you may close on a new first or second mortgage, Brewster must review your written request to refinance and issue a written approval. This approval will come from the Select Board. To begin the review process, please mail or email the following information to the Brewster Housing Coordinator: 1. The completed Refinance Request Form (attached) 2. A letter from you, the Homeowner, requesting approval to refinance or obtain a second mortgage. 3. Required information from your lender: Loan Commitment Letter stating the new loan terms, including: Interest Rate Loan Type (i.e., Conventional, Fixed) Rate Lock Expiration Date Points Length of Loan (i.e., 15-yr., 30-yr.) APR (Annual Percentage Rate) The above documents should be emailed to Brewster Housing Coordinator, Jill Scalise, at jscalise@brewster-ma.gov or mailed to or dropped off at the following address: Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631 Attn: Jill Scalise, Housing Coordinator Your proposed new first or second mortgage must meet these guidelines: Have a fixed interest rate through the full term of the mortgage Have a current fair market interest rate no more than two (2) percentage points above the current MassHousing Rate. For the current MassHousing rate, please call 617-854-1000 Have no more than two (2) points Total debt on the property may not exceed 97% of the Maximum Resale Price – to be determined by the Town of Brewster. As general guidance, a housing cost to income ratio of no more than 38% and debt obligation to income ratio of no more than 45% is expected for approval. For further information or questions on the status of your request, please contact Jill Scalise, Housing Coordinator, at 508-896-3701, ext. 1169 or jscalise@brewster-ma.gov PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY NOT CLOSE ON YOUR NEW LOAN WITHOUT WRITTEN RECORDABLE CONSENT FROM THE TOWN OF BREWSTER – OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE DEED RIDER’S NEW FIRST AND/OR SECOND MORTGAGE GUIDELINES. BREWSTER BUY DOWN AFFORDABLE DEED RESTRICTION REFINANCE REQUEST FORM Please complete this form and return with your refinance documents Owner Name:_____________________________________________________________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________________ Phone:___________________________ Email:____________________________________________ Amount of Loan Requested:_________________________________________________________________________ Request for Request (i.e., better interest rate, cash out, etc.):________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Lender: _____________________________________________________________________________ Lender Contact: Name:________________________________________________________________ Phone:____________________ Email:______________________________ Lender’s Attorney (Firm):______________________________________________________________ Name of Attorney:____________________________________________________________________ Phone:____________________ Email:______________________________ About the Unit: # of Bedrooms One Two Three Four Monthly condo or HOA Fee:___________________ The following information is required from your lender: Loan Commitment Letter stating the new loan terms, including: Interest Rate Loan Type (i.e., Conventional, Fixed) Rate Lock Expiration Date Points Length of Loan (i.e., 15-yr., 30-yr.) APR (Annual Percentage Rate) Payoff Statement showing all current debt on the property Your proposed new first or second mortgage must meet these guidelines: Have a fixed interest rate through the full term of the mortgage Have a current fair market interest rate no more than two (2) percentage points above the current MassHousing Rate. For the current MassHousing rate, please call 617-854-1000 Have no more than two (2) points Total debt on the property may not exceed 97% of the Maximum Resale Price – to be determined by the Town of Brewster. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY NOT CLOSE ON YOUR NEW LOAN WITHOUT WRITTEN RECORDABLE CONSENT FROM THE TOWN OF BREWSTER – OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE AFFORDABLE DEED RIDER. TOWN OF BREWSTER DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 1657 MAIN STREET BREWSTER,MA 02631 PHONE:(508)896-4546 SHELLFISH@BREWSTER-MA.GOV Memo: To: Brewster Select Board From: Chris Miller, Ryan Burch cc: Peter Lombardi Date: 3/26/21 Re: Commercial Razor Clam regulation revisions Since 2018, the Town of Brewster has slowly opened commercial razor clamming to Brewster residents. During this time, DNR staff has worked closely with harvesters to develop pilot regulations, collect data and work together to learn more about these animals. The intent of this program was to evaluate the viability of a commercial razor clam fishery in Brewster. The 2019 and 2020 Razor Clam Pilot Program was successful in accomplishing these objectives. As we enter 2021, modifications need to be made based on the current science, harvester feedback, and recommendations from shellfish experts. 2020 Summary: The Town continued to gather harvest data for the third year with the goal to identify any trends in time per unit effort. We also collaborated with the Barnstable County Cooperative Extension’s Marine Division to determine spawning cycles for razor clams. We had 20 total regular harvesters (up 5 from 2019) and 6 junior harvesters (up 2 from 2019). There were 88 days with a tide height of 0.0 or less (down 5 days (93) from 2019). Total harvest amounts were as follows: regular harvesters = 9,140lbs (492 days) and junior harvesters = 6,816lbs (150 days). At the July 12 mid-season harvest evaluation, 6 harvesters did not meet the harvest minimum. 3 harvesters applied and received a hardship waiver and 3 forfeited their razor clam endorsement. 3 new harvesters were selected from the waitlist to enter the fishery. At the January 31 year end harvest evaluation, 7 regular harvesters and 3 junior harvesters did not meet the harvest minimum to be grandfathered for next year, but can participate in the lottery. 2 Study Results: Harvest Study - There is a reduction in catch rate from 2019 to 2020. Using average catch per day there was a drop of about 28% from 2019 to 2020, using the median catch rate per day it was down around 36%. Catch per hour fished is down around more like 20% (17% based on mean and 23% based on median catch per hour) from 2019-2020. (Josh Reitsma, Fisheries & Aquaculture Specialist Cape Cod Cooperative Extension & Woods Hole) Spawning Study - Likely developing and preparing for spawning starting in late December/January and pretty ripe by February. Some spawning likely occurs in April but it’s primarily May, and would be completely over by June. A second spawning event in late August/early September that aligns with what others have seen. Larger animals are likely more fecund and produce more eggs/sperm as size/age increases. (Harriet Booth Marine Resource Specialist Cape Cod Cooperative Extension & Woods Hole) Professional Advice: The Brewster DNR sought out advice from MA Division of Marine Fisheries, Cape Cod Cooperative Extensions Marine Division, Roger Williams University, Ipswich Shellfish Dept., and National Marine Fisheries. These agencies suggested eight ways to manage a commercial razor clam shellfishery: 1.) Harvest Area Rotation (close one area, open another) 2.) Decrease catch limits 3.) Decrease number of harvesters 4.) Decrease the number of harvest days 5.) Increase recruitment capabilities (close during spawning times) 6.) Close the fishery 7.) Increase minimum size limit 8.) Hand dig only Public Comment: On March 10, 2021, a public meeting was held to gather comments and feedback about the 2020 razor clam season and discuss options moving forward. Emails were sent to the 2020 razor harvesters as well as 17 other people who have expressed interest in the fishery. Take-a-ways from that meeting include: More smaller clams than years past Number of clams seemed down from last year Didn’t see many off Point of Rocks More clams closer in to shore Revision Process: Recognizing the need to actively manage the razor clam fishery within its coastal waters, the Natural Resource Department developed revisions to the 2020 regulations based on the collective voice from the following sources: Study results Management strategies from shellfish experts Harvester input/comments DNR staff 3 Recommendations: We support opening the 2021 razor clam fishery with the following revisions: Harvest Season: April 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 Harvest Area: All areas in Brewster waters from a point beginning 100 yards west of Ellis Landing and extending magnetic north, and running East to the Town line border between Brewster and Orleans (see map) are closed April 1 through May 27 for commercial razor clamming. This area will open for harvest from May 28 through December 31 (pending monthly harvest trends) All areas (except those designated in red, see map) in Brewster waters from a point beginning 100 yards west of Ellis Landing and extending magnetic north, and running west to the Town line border between Brewster and Dennis (see map) will be open April 1 through December 31 for commercial razor clamming. Explanation: Harvest area rotation reduces harvest pressure on areas and allows resource recovery. Closure of April and May allows the bio mass the ability to spawn and re-populate. Total number of harvesters: Reduce to 15 regular harvesters and 5 junior harvesters. Explanation: Reducing the number of harvesters helps to reduce the impact on the resource. These numbers allow the opportunity to enter the fishery through a computer generated random selection lottery. Conditions of Eligibility: In order to maintain your razor clam endorsement, certain minimum harvest standards have been defined to ensure the endorsements are being used and the harvester is considered an “active harvester.” Mid-year harvest minimum – By August 12, 2020, all regular harvesters must have a minimum of 8 documented harvest days. Yearly harvest minimum – By December 31, 2021, all harvesters (regular and student) must have a minimum of 16 documented harvest days. Explanation: In order to maintain your razor clam endorsement, certain minimum harvest standards have been defined to ensure the endorsements are being used and the harvester is considered an “active harvester.” Monthly Harvest Assessment: A monthly harvest assessment using data generated from pounds per day and pounds per minute, as generated in the existing harvest assessment. Explanation: This allows the DNR to continually monitor harvest trends and modify the regulations (in season) based on science. TOWN OF BREWSTER 2021 Commercial Razor Clam Regulations Section 15 Commercial Razor Clam The purpose of these regulations is to sustainably manage the commercial harvest of razor clams in the waters of Brewster. The Select board reserves the right to modify these regulations at any time in order to protect and preserve this natural resource. The Department of Natural Resources recognizes the mobility of this fishery and the need to adjust the regulations as they migrate to new areas. Section 15.1 Commercial Shellfish License Purchase A.) Only persons holding a current Town of Brewster Commercial Shellfish License with a Razor Clam Endorsement may harvest razor clams from the waters of Brewster. B.) Commercial Shellfish Licenses will be sold at the Department of Natural Resource Office (1657 Main Street, Brewster) April 1 to May 31. Please note that all town offices are only open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that we have a drop box available in the front lobby. Section 15.2 Razor Clam Application A.) Renewal harvester applications will be accepted starting Wednesday March 24 through April 9 at the Department of Natural Resource Office. B.)New harvester applications will be available on Thursday March 25 through April 8 at the Department of Natural Resource Office. If the available spots are not filled by April 9, the application period will extend through the end of May Section 15.3 Endorsement Purchase A.)Renewal Endorsements will be available for purchase Wednesday April 1 2020 through April 8 2020 at Department of Natural Resource Office (1657 Main Street). B.)A computer generated random selection lottery will be held on Friday April 9, 2021 if there are more applicants than available spots. C.)Any new endorsement selected in the lottery may be purchased until May 31. D.)In the event that a harvester’s license is revoked, that available endorsement may be filled and a commercial shellfish license and razor clam endorsement may be purchased after May 31, based on a waiting list from the lottery. E.)Any license issued after August 12 will be responsible to pay the regular endorsement fee, no endorsements or commercial permit fees will be discounted for late purchase. Section 15.4 Annual Harvester Selection A.)In 2020, 13 regular harvesters and two student harvesters met all requirements and are subject to grandfathering for the 2021 season. B.)Total permits in 2021 will be 15 regular harvesters and five student harvesters. C.) 2 more regular harvesters will be chosen by a computer generated random selection lottery. D.) 3 student harvesters will be chosen by a computer generated random selection lottery. E.)If a grandfathered regular harvester does not renew their license, their permit will be added to the regular harvester lottery. F.)If a grandfathered student harvester does not renew their license, their permit will be added to the student lottery. Section 15.5 Endorsement Types A.)Regular Commercial Razor Clam Endorsement – The Select Board will issue 15 regular commercial razor clam endorsements to Brewster residents aged 21+. B.)Junior Commercial Razor Clam Endorsement - The Select Board will issue 5 junior commercial razor clam endorsements to Brewster residents aged 16-20 years old. This category has been capped at 5 participants who operate under the same rules and regulations as a regular commercial razor clam endorsement with exception to the endorsement fee and mid-year harvest requirements. Should the junior license holder turn 21 during the commercial season, they shall continue harvesting as a Junior until the season ends. C.)Apprentice - The Select Board may issue an apprentice razor clam endorsement to a resident child who is sponsored by a Town of Brewster commercial razor clam endorsement holder. Said child must be under the age of 16, and said apprentice endorsement shall expire on the child’s 16th birthday or at the end of the commercial season. The apprentice may only assist a sponsor who is actively engaged in the harvesting of razor clams. Each razor clam endorsement holder is allowed 2 (two) apprentice permits. Any apprentice will not be subject to the grandfather privileges and must enter the lottery for the desired program. Section 15.6 Endorsement fee A.)Regular $ 200.00 B.) Junior $ 100.00 C.) Apprentice No fee Section 15.7 Season The waters and flats of Cape Cod Bay in the Town of Brewster shall be open for the taking of razor clams annually from April 1st through December 31st, subject to seasonal closures of certain areas as detailed in section 15.11, Harvest Area. The taking of razor clams outside of this defined harvest period is prohibited. Section 15.8 Harvest Methods A.The taking of razor clams by means of salting with food grade salt is allowable, provided there are no other species (such as soft-shelled clams or quahogs) within the inter-tidal zone of a given area. Areas of mixed species will be assessed and determined in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Shellfish Constable B.No other method of harvest is allowable, such as plungers, pumps, drags, dredges or electric charge. C.Harvesters cannot use a pre-mixed salt solution for harvesting, harvest site mixing only using ocean water and food grade salt. D.Dry salting (salt not in a water solution), broadcast salting (spreading dry salt over a tidal flat), or spraying of any other solution than food grade table salt is prohibited. Section 15.9 Harvest Notification A.The Town of Brewster will require all harvesters to notify the shellfish constable each time they plan to harvest and specify whether by land or by boat. If by boat, indicate which harbor with adequate time for Shellfish Constables to respond. B.Prior to harvesting razor clams each day, the harvester must contact the Shellfish Constable to announce: a)Name b)Time c)Location Section 15.10 Harvester Reporting A.)After harvesting, the harvester must complete all required fields on the google reporting document by the last day of that harvest month. This includes: 1.Harvester name 2.Number of pounds harvested 3.Location 4.Hours spent harvesting ( Defined as: The first spray of salt to the last clam harvested) 5.Apprentice participation 6.Date 7.AM or PM tide B.)On the last day of each month, all harvesters are required to submit photo copies of their harvest tags with the following information: Wholesale name Date Description (type of clam) # of pounds Stamped transaction number PLEASE OMIT ALL FINANCIAL INFORMATION Methods of contact include: office phone (508) 896-4546 or text to department cell phone (774) 212-9040. Section 15.11 Harvest Area A.All areas in Brewster waters from a point beginning 100 yards west of Ellis Landing and extending magnetic north, and running East to the Town line border between Brewster and Orleans (see map) are closed April 1 through May 27 for commercial razor clamming. This area will open for harvest from May 28 through December 31 (pending monthly harvest trends) B.All areas (except those designated in red, see map) in Brewster waters from a point beginning 100 yards west of Ellis Landing and extending magnetic north, and running west to the Town line border between Brewster and Dennis (see map) will be open April 1 through December 31 for commercial razor clamming. C.Commercial razor clamming is prohibited in aquaculture sites and designated recreational shellfishing areas defined as: Saint’s Landing recreational quahog area, Littleneck rock beds off Ellis Landing. Section 15.12 Tagging / Display Permit A.All shellfish harvested under a commercial shellfish permit shall be placed in a suitable container during transport. The container shall bear a label or tag legibly marked with: a)Date of harvest. b) Place of harvest (CCB20) c) Digger’s state permit number. d) Name of digger. B.All shellfish, commercial permits and licenses shall be displayed upon demand of a Shellfish Constable or Town of Brewster police officer. Section 15.13 Commercial Shellfish Hours A.See Commercial Regulations Section 15.14 Landings A.All razor clams commercially harvested and landed shall be in bushel baskets measuring 18" in length, 10 ½ " in height, and 12 ¼" in width. (2150 cubic inches) B.All razor clams commercially harvested by foot shall be landed only at Town landings. C. All razor clams commercial harvested by boat will have to obtain written permission from the shellfish constable and the neighboring harbormasters in order to land shellfish in their harbors. In addition to tagging the bags CCB 20, the permit holder will have to retain a copy of this permission to display with their license. Section 15.15 Temperature Restrictions A.See Commercial Regulations Section 15.16 Size / Catch limit A.5” (five) minimum size B.2 Bushel per day limit Section 15.17 Double Tides in a 24 hour period (12:00am-11:59pm) A.In the case that two low tides occur on the same day, harvesters may fish both tides but the total harvest limit may not exceed two bushels. B.When reporting two harvest events on the same day, the harvester must adequately identify each harvest effort with an easily recognizable symbol or abbreviation. (i.e. am tide, pm tide) Section 15.18 Hardship A.A harvester that does not meet the minimum harvesting or reporting requirements defined in these regulations has the right to petition the Select board for a hardship waiver. B.The harvester must present their hardship to the Select Board in writing and provide any documentation to support their case. C.The harvester must act immediately in the case of a hardship incident, so as not to impair the rights of a replacement harvester in the case the hardship petition is denied. Section 15.19 Undersized Razor Clams A.All under sized (less than 5 inches) razor clams must be returned to the flats and buried (under the sand) immediately after harvest. Section 15.20 Principally Domiciled Residency Requirements A.Each applicant for a commercial razor clam endorsement shall be a resident and principally domiciled in the Town for a period of twelve (12) months prior to application. If at any time the endorsement holder should change domicile to another town, the permit holder shall immediately notify the Shellfish Constable and the permit shall be automatically revoked and must be surrendered to the Shellfish Constable. B.Each application shall be subject to review by the Shellfish Constable and Select Board, prior to approval. C.Establishing residency shall be the burden of the applicant, to the satisfaction of the issuing authority to provide four (4) of the following documents as proof of a principally domiciled resident: 1. A current mortgage statement; 2. A current motor vehicle excise tax bill issued by the Town; 3. A current real estate tax bill issued by the Town; 4. A current lease or rental agreement of the applicant’s residence/domicile in Brewster 5. A current listing on the Town census or list of persons 6. Or any other documentation as approved by the Shellfish Constable Please note that a driver’s license is not a valid proof of domicile Section 15.21 Reason for License Revocation A.Failure to maintain the residency requirements B.Failure to meet the required reporting requirements within 30 (thirty) days of harvest C.Failure to meet the minimum harvest days by the specified deadline as defined in these regulations D.Failure to renew an endorsement within the specified time requirements Section 15.22 Monthly Harvest Assessment A.)A monthly harvest assessment using data generated from pounds per day and pounds per minute, as generated in the existing harvest assessment. B.)Each harvester will be required to submit harvest data via the google document form and submit photo copies of each documented harvest day at the end of each month. C.)If harvest trends from these monthly reports show a further reduction in harvest levels, further restrictions or closure to the Eastern end of Brewster shall be implemented. D.)Google document link: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Section 15.23 Minimum Harvest Requirements A.) Mid-year harvest minimum – By August 12, 2021 all regular harvesters must have a minimum of 8 documented harvest days or their license will be revoked. B.)Yearly harvest minimum – By December 31, 2021 all harvesters (regular and student) must have a minimum of 16 documented harvest days or they will not meet minimum requirements for grandfathering. C.)Any razor clam endorsement issued after August12 will not be subject to the annual minimum harvest requirements. Section 15.24 Transferability of License A.)These licenses are not transferable Section 15.25 Documented Harvest Day A.) Is defined as a harvest day with a dealer sales slip of 8 pounds or greater. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\CLOSED 4/1 - 5/27 OPEN 5/28 - 12/31 OPEN 4/1 - 12/31 DENNI SORLEANS P A I N E S C R E E K M A N T S L A N D I N G S A I N T S L A N D I N G B R E A K W A T E R L A N D I N G P O I N T O F R O C K S E L LI S L A N D I N G LI N N E L L L A N D I N G C R O S B Y L A N D I N G XY 2021 RAZOR CLAM HARVEST MAP Closed Area MARCH 2021¶0 0.5 10.25 Miles 41°47'44.68"N 70° 4'10.04"W 41°46'40.57"N 70° 3'27.38"W XY Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 MEMORANDUM TO: Brewster Select Board FROM: Donna J. Kalinick, Assistant Town Administrator for Community Development & Finance RE: Brewster Woods Fee Waiver request DATE: March 25, 2021 In accordance with your revised Fee Waiver Policy #5, we request the waiver of the following fees, associated with the Brewster Woods project. BREWSTER WOODS PHASE 1 Building Permit Application (Retaining Wall) = $125.00 HDC Sign = $25.00 Building Permit Sign Permit = $30.00 Electrical = Between $100.00 - $150.00 Total = $330.00 The Board of Health waiver the septic permit fee of $770 at their February meeting. As you know the Town has entered a contract with CC Construction for the Phase I work and funded through a 1.68 million dollar MassWorks Grant. Phase I is moving along nicely. Drainage, septic, leaching field and water have all been installed. Town Departments have been instrumental in assisting to move this important project along quickly. The Town has been coordinating with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), Coastal Engineering, Catalyst Architects and the Housing Authority to ensure construction runs smoothly and abutter concerns are addressed. We expect Phase II, the construction of 30 units of affordable housing to begin in April. CPC funds are being used to support both Phase I and Phase II. The fees for Phase II are rather significant and detailed below. Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) along with their partner, Housing Assistance Corp. are working diligently on closing on their financing which involves a lot of public subsidy. Recently, we received notice from Eversource that the cost to run power to this location will be significant. We are trying to absorb those costs into the Massworks Grant. Additionally, the cost of construction for Phase II has increased and POAH is having to make some adjustments in construction. The cost of Office of: Select Board Town Administrator building Affordable Housing has become truly prohibitive while the need has increased. On behalf of Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and in accordance with Policy #5, “Construction projects initiated, participated in, or sponsored by the Town, including those related to affordable housing, shall be exempt from all applicable licensing and permit fees except electrical and plumbing/gas inspectional service fees”, we request waiver of the permits fees for Phase II of Brewster Woods. Waiver of permit fees is another way that Towns can support affordable housing. BREWSTER WOODS PHASE 2 The fees for the Brewster Woods project, the cost of the permits for both buildings will be roughly $26,224.00. Inspection fees will be paid by the Phase II contractor, Delphi Construction. Archived: Friday, March 26, 2021 3:02:49 PM From: Amy Se nt: Wed, 17 Mar 2021 13:24:11 To: Robin Young Subject: Submission for the Select Board Meeting Se nsitivity: Normal Attachments: Waiver of Fees_Letter to Select Board.pdf; Hi Robin, Hope you are doing well. BCT has been working on a large project over the last and is preparing to go before the Planning Board on April 28 for approval of the subdivision. I am respectfully requesting a waiver or consideration of reduction of the $3500 filing fee. This project will result in the protection of over 25-acres of Open Space. I have attached a copy of my letter to the Select Board and will drop a Hard Copy of this afternoon. I would appreciate it being added to their next available meeting. I looked back in my records and the last time I did this was the end of 2019 and neither you nor I were 100% sure on the process, so please let me know if I should be addressing this with someone else. I am also happy to provide an overview of the project or answer any questions. Thank you, Amy Amy Henderson Executive Director Brewster Conservation Trust 36 Red Top Road Brewster, MA 02631 Office: 508-694-6720 amy@brewsterconservationtrust.org www.brewsterconservationtrust.org First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist opening hearts, growing souls, turning love into justice Brewster Meeting House: 1969 Main Street Mail: 1 Harwich Road, Brewster, MA 02631 508.896.5577 Webpage: fpbuu.org March 23, 2021 This letter serves to request that First Parish Brewster UU be allowed to use Paines Creek Beach on the morning of April 4th for a sunrise service from 5:45-6:45am. We also request that fees be waived for this since we are a small non-profit. The estimated attendance for this will be approximately 20 people. Thank you for your consideration of our request. Rev Jessica Clay, Minister of FPBUU [Town of Brewster Letterhead] The Honorable Governor Charles Baker Office of the Governor, Room 280 Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon St. Boston, MA 02133 Dear Governor Baker, The Town of Brewster, and much of Cape Cod, is experiencing a third escalation of COVID-19 cases. The Brewster Select Board is writing again to request your urgent action. Please direct desperately needed resources to Barnstable County including COVID vaccine and free COVID testing. As of March 18, only 1,823 of 9,926 Brewster residents were fully vaccinated. Residents in all eligible groups want to be vaccinated and are having to compete for vaccine with other residents. Barnstable County has excellent infrastructure in place to provide immunizations, but we need your help to protect ourselves. We urge you to do all you can to obtain more vaccine for Massachusetts residents, provide more vaccine to Cape Cod, and expand free COVID testing on Cape Cod. Respectfully, Mary Chaffee, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN Chair, Select Board Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Memo To: Select Board From: Robin Young; Executive Assistant to the Town Administrator Date: March 29, 2021 RE: New Hawker Peddler License The following dates have been scheduled for off-site Department Head Meetings on the second Tuesday of each month, beginning at 10am. All meetings have been confirmed with the department head of the location. Eric Barber of Rooftop Power has submitted an application for a new Hawker Peddler license. Mr. Barber offers energy consulting and often will go door to door to introduce residents to his services. He ensures that he is following Covid-19 compliance of mask wearing, and social distancing with the potential clients. His application was distributed with approval from the Police Department. Archived: Friday, March 26, 2021 3:23:46 PM From: Jill Doane Se nt: Tue, 23 Mar 2021 11:11:51 To: Robin Young Subject: Eric Barber application for Hawker's and Peddler's License Se nsitivity: Normal Hi Robin, Eric Barber’s fingerprint processing has been completed and approved by Lt. Bausch. J d Jill F. Doane Administrative Assistant Brewster Police Department 508-896-7011 x2110 jdoane@brewster-ma.gov ELBOW POND WALKER'S POND UPPER MILL POND SEYMOUR POND WESTGATEROADBLACK DU CK C A R T W A Y PUNKHORNROADRUNHILLROADARCH I E ' S C A RTWAY SQUANTUMPATHCRANVI E W R OAD REDMAP L E R O A D SLOUGHROAD Select Board Conservation Commission Board of Water Commissioners Building Road Í 0 1,500 3,000750 Feet Town-owned Parcel Custody inSouthwest Brewster. N DAJFEB / 2021 H A R W IC H KP Law, P.C. | Boston • Hyannis • Lenox • Northampton • Worcester February 10, 2021 Jonathan M. Silverstein jsilverstein@k-plaw.com CONFIDENTIAL - NOT A PUBLIC DOCUMENT Mr. Peter Lombardi Town Administrator Brewster Town Hall 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-3701 Re: Punkhorn Parklands Hunting Prohibition Bylaw Dear Mr. Lombardi: You have requested an opinion regarding a potential Town Meeting warrant article under consideration concerning hunting on Punkhorn Parklands (the “Parklands”). Specifically, you have informed me that ten or more registered voters are considering petitioning an article for the 2021 Annual Town Meeting warrant that would prohibit hunting on the Parklands, and you have requested an opinion as to the form of such an article whether Town Meeting has the authority to pass an article to that effect. It is my understanding that, at the request of several residents, the Conservation Commission and Department of Natural Resources recently took steps, in consultation with the Select Board, to expand hunting on the Parklands on a limited basis. A separate group of residents has now requested that a warrant article to prohibit hunting on the Parklands be presented to the upcoming Town Meeting. A member of the citizen group seeking to prohibit hunting on the Parklands has suggested the Town adopt a bylaw similar to that recently approved by the Provincetown Town Meeting.1 As described below, in my opinion, Town Meeting likely has the authority to pass a bylaw prohibiting hunting on public property, such as the Parkland. 1 At its September 21, 2020 Annual Town Meeting, Provincetown voters approved the following amendments to Chapter 13 of the Provincetown General Bylaws: No person shall discharge any gun, including paint ball guns, fowling piece, pistol, or firearm or release an arrow from a bow or hunt or trap or poison or set fire to any material known as fireworks, or other combustible matter, in any of the public ways, streets or places of the Town, including but not limited to conservation land or other Town owned property, except for lands under control of the Cape Cod National Seashore and Clapp’s Pond Property; except on such occasions approved by the Select Board upon public notice; provided, however, this section shall not apply to any person abating nuisance or in the exercise of duty required by law. Mr. Peter Lombardi Town Administrator February 10, 2021 Page 2 Legal Background Town Meeting is the Town’s legislative body, and the Select Board is its chief executive. Brewster General Bylaws, §§5-2 (Town Meeting is legislative branch) and 5-3 (Select Board serves executive function); see generally Twomey v. Town of Middleborough, 468 Mass. 260, 263 (2014). As such, Town Meeting may not exercise executive powers or direct, compel, or control executive action. See Anderson v. Board of Selectmen of Wrentham, 406 Mass. 508, 512 (1990); Breault v. Town of Auburn, 303 Mass. 424, 428 (1939). Town Meeting cannot direct or control “one whose duties have been defined by the Legislature.” Breault, 303 Mass. at 428 (quoting Daddario v. City of Pittsfield, 301 Mass. 552, 558 (1938)). “More specifically, a town meeting cannot exercise authority over a board of selectmen when the board is acting in furtherance of a statutory duty.” Twomey, 468 Mass. at 270. However, as the legislative body, Town Meeting may enact bylaws that direct public officials to act or refrain from acting in certain circumstances. Under the Home Rule Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution, Article 89 of the Articles of Amendment, and the Home Rule Procedures Act, G.L. c. 43B, §13, municipalities may enact local bylaws on any subject so long as the local enactment is not inconsistent with the laws or constitution of the Commonwealth. See generally Bloom v. City of Worcester, 363 Mass. 136 (1973). A local law may be inconsistent with state law if it is in direct conflict with the state law, or if the Legislature has so occupied a field that local regulation has been implicitly preempted. See id. at 279-280. However, to be preempted, the conflict in the state and local law must be “sharp,” and absent a comprehensive statutory scheme regulating a subject, municipalities “through their by-laws may supplement the statutory provisions so long as their by- laws are not inconsistent with any State law.” Marshfield Family Skateland, Inc. v. Town of Marshfield, 389 Mass. 436, 442 (1983) (town may prohibit an activity notwithstanding state statute allowing local licensing board to issue licenses for that activity). As relevant to both issues described above, hunting on public property and parklands is prohibited under G.L. c. 131, §59 unless the public body with custody of the property permits it. Specifically, said Section 59 provides: A person shall not hunt, or in any manner molest or destroy, any bird or mammal within the boundaries of any reservation, park or common, or any land owned or leased by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or any land held in trust for public use; except that the authorities or persons having the control and charge of such reservations, parks, commons or other lands, may, with such limitations as they deem advisable, permit the hunting, within said boundaries during the applicable open season of any birds or mammals. [Emphasis added.] Mr. Peter Lombardi Town Administrator February 10, 2021 Page 3 Analysis In my opinion Town Meeting likely has the authority to adopt a bylaw, similar to the one approved by the Provincetown Town Meeting, which prohibits hunting on public ways, conservation land, or other Town property, because that is a proper legislative action. Although the bylaw approved at the Provincetown Town Meeting is still under review at the Office of the Attorney General, I note that similar bylaws have been approved in other communities, such as Norfolk, Canton and Needham. In fact, in approving similar portions of a bylaw enacted by the Town of Norfolk, the Attorney General specifically found that a bylaw prohibiting hunting on Town-owned land without the permission of the Board of Selectmen was consistent with G.L. c. 131, §59. As observed by the Attorney General, it is my opinion such a bylaw is not inconsistent with State law and, in fact, the regulation of hunting on public lands is expressly allowed pursuant to G.L. c. 131, §59. It is, likewise, my opinion that the fact that the property may be held by the Town for conservation purposes does not alter this conclusion. Though the Conservation Commission has jurisdiction over conservation lands in the Town, it is my opinion that Town Meeting, through the passage of a bylaw, may exercise concurrent jurisdiction in this area. See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Beacon Hill Architectural Commission, 421 Mass. 570 (1996) (recognizing that different departments in same municipality may have jurisdiction over related subject-matter). Therefore, in my opinion, that Town Meeting likely has the authority to enact a bylaw prohibiting hunting on Town-owned land, including the Parklands. I will inform you as soon as the Attorney General’s Office approves or disapproves the Provincetown Bylaw. If that bylaw is disapproved, the Town could consider a home rule petition for special legislation to authorize adoption of the bylaw. If you have any additional questions concerning these issues, please do not hesitate to contact me. JMS/MVS/man 750276/BREW/0001 Very truly yours, Jonathan M. Silverstein THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION 10 MECHANIC STREET, SUITE 301 WORCESTER, MA 01608 (508) 792-7600 (508) 795-1991 fax www.mass.gov/ago 1 March 23, 2021 Emmett Catanese, Town Clerk Town of Provincetown 260 Commercial Street Provincetown, MA 02657 Re: Provincetown Annual Town Meeting of September 21, 2020 --- Case # 9918 Warrant Articles # 14, 15, 17, 27, 28, 29, and 30 (General) Dear Mr. Catanese: Articles 15 and 17 - We approve Articles 15 and 17 from the September 21, 2020 Provincetown Annual Town Meeting. 1 Note: Pursuant to G.L. c. 40, § 32, neither general nor zoning by-laws take effect unless the Town has first satisfied the posting/publishing requirements of that statute. Once this statutory duty is fulfilled, (1) general by-laws and amendments take effect on the date these posting and publishing requirements are satisfied unless a later effective date is prescribed in the by-law, and (2) zoning by-laws and amendments are deemed to have taken effect from the date they were approved by the Town Meeting, unless a later effective date is prescribed in the by-law. Very truly yours, MAURA HEALEY ATTORNEY GENERAL Kelli E. Gunagan By: Kelli E. Gunagan Assistant Attorney General Municipal Law Unit 10 Mechanic Street, Suite 301 Worcester, MA 01608 (508) 792-7600 cc: Town Counsel John W. Giorgio 1 In a decision dated December 18, 2020 we approved Articles 14, 27, 28, 29, and 30 and extended our deadline for Articles 15 and 17 for an additional ninety days until March 23, 2021. Archived: Friday, March 26, 2021 3:32:02 PM From: Paul Anderson Se nt: Thu, 25 Mar 2021 08:35:34 To: Peter Lombardi Cc: Sherry Theuret Subject: Citizen Petition to ban hunting in Punkhorn Parklands Se nsitivity: Normal Good Morning Peter, On 3/5/2021 the Water Commissioners discussed the Citizens Petition to ban hunting in the Punkhorn Parklands including land under the control and care of the Water Department (Commissioners / Superintendent). This topic was previously discussed at the 11/6/2020 meeting after a brief presentation by Chris Miller that outlined the possibility of allowing limited hunting practices (bow and black powder from a tree stand) in the same location to control the deer population. At that time the Commissioners had no objection to the proposed practice but asked to revisit it after it was discussed by the Conservation Commission. At the 3/5 meeting the consensus of the Water Commissioners was that since the Citizens Petition would not change how the land is currently permitted to be utilized it should be decided at Town Meeting. The Board chose not to vote in favor or against the petition. The minutes from the 3/5/21 meeting have not been approved by the Water Commissioners yet, so the above is my interpretation of the discussion. We will be meeting again on 4/2 and those minutes will be reviewed at that time. Best-Paul Paul Anderson Superintendent 165 Commerce Park Road Brewster, MA 02631 508-896-5454 Effective March 9, 2021, until further notice: Based on current state guidance and public health data, Brewster Town Offices are open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays during regular business hours. Residents and visitors are urged to continue to access town services remotely if possible. Phone messages and email communications will continue to be answered promptly. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. For the latest updates on Town services, please visit www.brewster-ma.gov. Brewster Conservation Commission Minutes March 23, 2021 1 Brewster Conservation Commission Minutes – Meeting Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40, Section 8C, Conservation Commission Act Massachusetts General Law Chapter 131, Section 40, Wetlands Protection Act (WPA), 310 CMR 10.00 Regulations Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP) (M.G.L. C.131. § 40) And Code of the Town of Brewster Chapter 172, Brewster Wetlands Protection Bylaw (BWP Bylaw) Wetland Regulations 1.01 – 9.15 Call to Order Under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, Chairman Michael Tobin called to order the Tuesday, March 23, 2021 meeting of the Brewster Conservation Commission at 6:00 PM by remote participation. Present Chairman Michael Tobin, Commissioners Casey Dannhauser, Bruce Evans, Gary Kaser, Greg Scalise, Peter Wells, Conservation Administrator Noelle Aguiar, Natural Resources Director Chris Miller, Carol Spade “Casey Dannhauser, Present”, Bruce Evans, Present”,“Greg Scalise, Present”, “Michael Tobin, Present”, “Peter Wells, Present”, Chris Miller, Present”, “Noelle Aguiar, Present”,“Carol Spade, Present” Chairman Tobin read into the record, the legal information required of him by the Open Meeting Law, and the necessary legal information relative to Governor Charles Baker’s orders suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. He explained to the public the strict limits on the number of people that may gather in one place and the way in which the public can participate remotely.’ He also explained where the meeting packet information and meeting recordings can be found and where to send comments; all as contained on the posted agenda. Discussion and Vote: Citizens’ Petition, Hunting Ban in the Punkhorn Parklands The Conservation Administrator explained that the Conservation Commission previously read all email letters sent to them from members of the public with regard to this citizens’ petition. Chairperson Tobin stressed that the Conservation Commission is discussing only the citizens’ petition and is not discussing its hunting policy. He did not request public comment, but requested the Commission members comment on the petition. Commissioner Evans stated that the Commission essentially believes that bow hunting from tree stands can be allowed in the Punkhorn Parklands. The Conservation Commission has held many meetings over the years for the purpose of allowing or disallowing hunting in the Punkhorn Parklands. Experts on white-tailed deer employed by MA Department of Environmental Protection reported on their conducted studies. The Commission has invited members of the public to offer their opinions at those meetings, He does not support this citizens’ petition. Commissioner Kaser stated he believed hunting is needed legally to control and protect wildlife, and that MA General Laws; specifically, the MA Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, provides that legal authority through recreational hunting. He does not support the citizens’ petition. Commissioner Scalise stated that he does not support the citizens’ petition. He stated that hunting is not allowed in Nickerson State Park in Brewster or on many town lands under the care, custody and control of the Brewster Conservation Commission. He stated hunting should be allowed in places such as the Punkhorn Parklands. Commissioner Dannhauser explained that she does not support the citizens’ petition, as she believed in the time going forward, if not at this time, that hunting might be needed as a tool to protect wildlife habitat and the wildlife living in the environment, should wildlife and wildlife habitat experience deprivation. Commissioner Wells had no comment on the petition at this time. Chairman Tobin stated does not support the citizens’ petition. He stated he believed that hunting with bow and arrow, but not firearms, should be allowed in the Punkhorn Parklands. Commissioner Dannhauser voted not to support the citizens’ petition. “Casey Dannhauser, No”, Commissioner Evans voted not to support the citizens’ petition. “Bruce Evans, No”, Commissioner Kaser voted not to support the citizens’ petition. “Gary Kaser, No”, Brewster Conservation Commission Minutes March 23, 2021 2 Commissioner Scalise voted not to support the citizens’ petition. “Greg Scalise, No,” Commissioner Wells voted not to support the citizens’ petition. “Peter Wells, No”, Chairman Tobin voted not to support the citizens’ petition. ”Michael Tobin, No” *Note: The words, “wetland” and “resource area” are synonymous. The 100 and 50 foot buffer zone is the protective upland area located within 100 and 50 feet of a wetland. As the municipal focal point for environmental protection, Conservation Commissions were given the responsibility in 1972 for administering the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA). Since that time the Commissions have served in a regulatory as well as a conservation capacity. In 1979, Lovequist v. Conservation Commission of Town of Dennis, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld that by-laws are not in conflict with the Wetlands Protection Act, so long as they impose stricter standards on projects affecting wetlands and other resource areas. The Brewster Wetland Protection By-law was adopted on December 10, 1984. Its Regulations were promulgated, May 27, 1986. ***Documents for this meeting include the following: 1. Conservation Commission Approved Planting List: Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Service (www.capecodextension.org), list of native woody plants for coastal/inland wetland buffer zones depicting the species, size and natural spacing of plants 2. The Vascular Plants of Massachusetts; A County Checklist 3. Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources…Invasive Plants in Massachusetts1/1/05 4. Administrative Report of the Conservation Administrator 5. Meeting video recording, Town of Brewster Website http://town.brewster.ma.us -------- Original message -------- From: Scott Collum <scottcollum@comcast.net> Date: 3/24/21 9:38 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Cc: Scott Collum <scottcollum@comcast.net> Subject: CITIZENS PETITION/Hunting on Town Property (Punkhorn) 3-22-21 Dear Brewster Select Board, This is a difficult time to have your voice heard. I am writing this letter to be read into the record being that I cannot go to the town hall to look all in the eye and speak with you. Please read this letter to the public record at your meeting. I am in opposition to this Citizens petition to block the rights of the many for the benefit of the few. It is always a sad day when the you see such bias and bigotry of some of our citizens. The cape has always been a sports persons playground from the days of the Mayflower landing to hopefully far into the future. I think it is wrong for people to support discrimination against this group for political beliefs. I understand the Punkhorns are the back yard of the few houses in that area. The Not In My Backyard culture that has crept up on the cape and is shining bright with this petition is wrong. This land was purchased with our tax dollars for all of our citizens. Please consider on choosing the morally good side of this situation and vote against supporting the loss of usage of these lands. Let us work together to keep equal rights for Brewster citizens and all peoples with peace, love, and understanding. Regards Scott Collum Pricing 1 Brewster, Mass. 1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS District Participation in School Choice 1.May a school committee vote to specify into which schools, grades, and programs it will admit students through school choice? Yes. When determining capacity for admission of school choice students by June 1st for the upcoming school year, school committees may specify the schools and grades in which seats are available for non-resident students. See G.L. c. 76, § 12B(c). Therefore, it is permissible for a school committee to limit the admission of non-resident students through school choice to specific grades, programs, and schools. It is important to note, however, that once a non-resident student is admitted through school choice, the school district must treat students admitted through school choice in the same manner as it treats students residing in the district. The basic premise of the school choice law is that a school choice student once admitted to the district must be treated in the same way a resident student is treated. Therefore, if students who reside in the district are permitted to transfer to other schools or programs within the district, then students admitted through school choice must also be permitted to transfer to other schools or programs in the district. 2.May a school committee rescind an earlier vote to participate in school choice? It depends. If the new vote of the school committee occurs before June 1, it overrides the previous vote. Students who are already participating in the school choice program, or who were admitted prior to the new vote, have a right to continue attending school in the receiving district. If the new vote of the school committee occurs on or after June 1, it is ineffective and the district remains a school choice district for the upcoming school year. 3.May a school committee rescind an earlier vote to withdraw from school choice? Yes. Consistent with statutory presumption that all school districts will participate in school choice, a school committee may rescind an earlier vote to withdraw from school choice. The new vote to participate in school choice need not occur prior to June 1st. 2 Provision of Information on School Choice 4.May a district advertise its status as a school choice district? Yes. Advertising its status and seats available for admission is consistent with notifying potential applicants of the availability of seats and the process for admission through school choice. The Department annually updates and publishes the list of districts that participate in school choice on its website. 5.How should districts that participate in school choice inform potential applicants of the application process? Districts participating in school choice are encouraged to publish the availability of school choice seats and the district’s admission process and deadlines, including making such information readily available on the district’s website. School districts must also must provide the information upon request. 6.Where can a family obtain information about how to apply through school choice? Applicants should contact the district they want to attend for information on how to apply for school choice. Admission and Continued Attendance of Students 7.Does a student need to be a Massachusetts resident to seek admission pursuant to G.L. c. 76, § 12B? Yes. Admission through school choice is only open to residents of Massachusetts. See G.L. c. 76, § 12B(a) (definition of sending district). Additionally, a student must be a resident of Massachusetts to attend and to continue attending a receiving district through school choice. 8.Must a school district use a random selection process? The statute requires a random selection process if there are more applications for admission than there are seats available. The statute also prohibits school districts from discriminating in the admission of any student on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, ancestry, athletic performance, physical handicap, special need, academic performance, or proficiency in the English language. G.L. c. 76, § 12B(j). 9.May a school choice district accept students at any time during the school year? Yes, provided that there are fewer applicants than seats available for school choice students. If there are more applicants than seats available, the receiving 3 district must conduct a random selection process prior to July 1st and again, assuming there are seats available, prior to November 1st. Once names are selected during a random process, the district can maintain a waitlist of those names and admit students from that list during the year should seats become available. The same requirements regarding notice to the sending district apply to students admitted during the year as apply to students admitted before a school year begins. See the discussion under “student Selection Process” on page 2 of this advisory. 10.Must school districts establish a sibling preference policy when admitting students pursuant to G.L. c. 76, § 12B? Yes. Under G.L. c. 76 § 12B(j), any sibling of a student currently attending school in the receiving district receives a preference for admission. Siblings are students who have a common parent, either biologically or legally through adoption. Children who live in the same household, such as step-siblings and foster children, and do not share a common parent are not siblings for purposes of receiving a sibling preference for admission. Students entitled to a sibling preference are those who have a sibling currently attending school in the receiving district when an offer of admission is made. This preference is available to students who have a common parent regardless of whether the students live in the same household, whether the student currently attending was admitted as a resident student or through school choice, or whether the student currently attending will still be enrolled when the newly admitted student begins attending. The sibling preference is not available for students who do not share a common parent biologically or legally and live in the same household. Receive Sibling Preference Do Not Receive Sibling Preference Students who live in different households but share a common biological or legal parent Siblings of students who will graduate at the end of the school year in which the admissions process occurs Children who live in the same household but do not share a common biological or legal parent Foster children without a common biological or legal parent Step-siblings without a common biological or legal parent Siblings of applicants accepted for admission who are not yet attending, including twins The sibling preference applies only when one sibling is already attending in the school choice district. If siblings of the same family apply simultaneously and only one sibling is admitted, no preference is available for the sibling who has not yet been admitted. 4 11.How does sibling preference apply when a student is seeking to attend a regional vocational technical high school through school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B? Siblings of students currently attending the regional vocational technical school seeking admission under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, must receive a sibling preference during the admission process for school choice. The sibling preference applies to regional vocational schools admitting students under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, in the same manner that it applies to all other schools. 12.May districts designate students as school choice who have not been admitted through the school choice process? No. Only students admitted through the school choice process may be counted and reported as school choice students. 13.May a school district establish a preference for the children of school district or other municipal employees when admitting students through school choice? No. A preference for admission on any basis other than for siblings is inconsistent with the random selection requirement in the statute. Outside of school choice, however, a school district may admit children of school district and municipal employees under G.L. c. 76, § 12. Also see FAQ No. 29. The receiving district is not eligible to receive school choice tuition for such students. 14.Without signed parental consent, may a receiving district contact a student's district of residence to obtain records? During the application phase, the school choice district should not obtain or consider student records from the student’s previous or current district. Once a student is admitted and accepts that offer of admission, however, the receiving district can request student records from the sending district as a matter of right under the student record regulations at 603 CMR 23.07(4)(g). This regulation provides as follows. (g) Authorized school personnel of the school to which a student seeks or intends to transfer may have access to such student's record without the consent of the eligible student or parent, provided that the school the student is leaving, or has left, gives notice that it forwards student records to schools in which the student seeks or intends to enroll. Such notice may be included in the routine information letter required under 603 CMR 23.10. 15.May a receiving district consider a student’s disciplinary record prior to accepting a student? 5 No. A receiving district may not consider a student’s disciplinary record during the admission process under G.L. c. 76, § 12B. In consultation with its lawyer, a district may consider beginning its own disciplinary process once a student is attending. 16.May a school district refuse to admit students through school choice who have been expelled from another school? No. Prior to 2014, school officials had discretion to admit or not to admit a student who had been expelled. The disciplinary statutes were revised in 2014 and the language permitting public schools to refuse to admit expelled students was deleted. Therefore, public schools may no longer refuse to admit students because they were expelled from another school. While not addressing school choice explicitly, the advisory and question and answers on student discipline posted on the Department’s website provide more detailed information about student discipline laws. 17.May a receiving district rescind an offer of admission based upon a student’s disciplinary record? No. A receiving district may not rescind an offer of admission based upon a student’s disciplinary record. In consultation with its lawyer, a district may consider beginning its own disciplinary process once a student is attending. 18.How can a selective secondary school participate in school choice and still be “selective?” Selective secondary schools in Massachusetts, which are primarily regional vocational technical schools, admit students pursuant to an admissions plan that has been approved by the Department. Participating in school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is an additional option for regional vocational technical schools that have seats not filled by resident students.10 School choice students are accepted after resident students who meet the minimum requirements for admission. The admission of students through school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is a separate and distinct process from the admission of students to a regional vocational school pursuant to its selective admissions plan approved by the Department. If a regional vocational technical school admits students under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, it may not consider, among other characteristics, athletic 10 Inter-district school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is separate and distinct from the nonresident student tuition process under G.L. c. 74 and 603 CMR 4.00. There are significant differences between the two programs. Additional information regarding the nonresident tuition process may be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/cte/admissions/. performance, physical handicap, special need, or academic performance. An admissions process under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is not a selective admissions process. 6 19.May a child who is too young to be eligible for kindergarten entry in his or her district be admitted through school choice as a kindergarten student in another district that has a different age standard? Yes. If the child qualifies for admission to the receiving district, the district of residence must pay the school choice tuition for this student. Additionally, if the student returns to the district of residence after completing kindergarten, the district of residence must enroll this student like any other student enrolling in the district for the first time, including grade placement. Example Children in District A must be five years old by September 1st to enter kindergarten. Children in District B must be five years old by December 31st to enter kindergarten. Student 1 from District A, who does not meet District A’s age requirement, enrolls in kindergarten in District B through school choice. District A is responsible for this student’s tuition even though the student would not be eligible to enroll in District A. The fact that the sending district has a different kindergarten entry age is irrelevant under school choice, except to the extent that it may motivate families to seek enrollment of the child in another district. Additionally, should Student 1 return to District A for a subsequent grade, District A should enroll that student as it would any other student who moves into the district for the first time and seeks to attend school. 20.May a district admit students into pre-kindergarten through school choice? Yes, districts may admit students into pre-kindergarten programs through school choice provided they follow the admission practices required for school choice and do so after admitting all resident students. Note, however, that receiving districts will receive school choice tuition only for those pre-kindergarten students who qualify for special education and have an IEP. 21.If a resident student moves from the district but wishes to continue to attend school there, may the district enroll this student through school choice? May the district provide this student an admission preference? May the district count this student as a school choice student? Provided it participates in school choice, the district may enroll such a student if it follows the same process that it uses for all other non-resident students, including the provisions relating to public notice. The district, however, may not provide an admission preference to this student or admit this student ahead of other students who may wish to be admitted or who are on a waitlist. Alternatively, the school committee could allow the former student to continue to attend at no cost to the student’s family or could enter into an agreement with the school committee of the 7 new district of residence to allow that student to attend at the expense of the new school district. See G.L. c. 76, § 12 (addressing agreements between school committees for the education of students), and FAQ No. 30. If the student is not admitted through school choice following the same process that it uses for all other non-resident students, the district cannot count the student as a school choice student, receive school choice tuition for the student, or otherwise “convert” the student to school choice. 22.What happens to a school choice student’s status if the student studies abroad independent of the school district’s programs or otherwise stops attending school in the receiving district? The receiving district would unenroll the student if he or she stops attending school in the receiving district. The student no longer has a right to attend school in the receiving district. Instead, if seats were available and the student wished to attend again in the receiving district, the student would need to reapply and participate in the same application process as all other non-resident students. The receiving district cannot provide an enrollment preference to this student or admit this student ahead of other students. 23.May a receiving district approve a home schooling plan for a student who does not reside in the district? No. Under G.L. c. 76, § 1, the student’s district of residence has authority to evaluate and approve home education plans. Such approval must occur in advance of withdrawing a student from school. See G.L. c. 76, § 1 (student of compulsory school age must “attend a public day [or some other approved school . . . but such attendance shall not be required of a child . . . who is being otherwise instructed in a manner approved in advance by the superintendent or the school committee.”). Students who are home schooled in Massachusetts are considered to be privately enrolled. Rights of Students 24.Must a student admitted under school choice reapply for admission in subsequent years? No. Once a receiving district admits a non-resident student through school choice, that student has the right to remain in the receiving district, provided his or her enrollment is continuous, until he or she graduates from high school or completes the highest grade offered by the district. The right to continued attendance exists even if the school district decides that it will no longer participate in the school choice program. 25.Once a student is accepted through school choice, can the receiving district rescind the acceptance because of the student’s academic record? 8 No. A district may not rescind an offer of admission based upon a student’s academic record because that would be discriminating based upon academic performance, a practice explicitly prohibited by the school choice statute at G.L. c. 76, § 12B(j). 26.Must a school choice district admit students with disabilities who may require out-of-district placements? Yes. The school choice law explicitly states that applicants cannot be discriminated against on the basis of disability. School districts may not consider whether students have a disability or the nature of their disabilities in determining whether to admit them under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, and similarly may not rescind any offers of admission on the basis of a student’s disability or needs.11 Neither a sending district nor a receiving district may require a student who needs an out- of-district placement to unenroll from the receiving district or to re-enroll in the sending district. A student who is accepted through school choice is entitled to the same rights and privileges as if the student were a resident of the district. It is important to note that the school choice tuition for a student with disabilities is determined using a cost calculator similar to the one used for the circuit breaker program; this does not include the costs of evaluations for special education. The costs of evaluations are paid by receiving districts. 27.May a school choice student be disciplined, including suspension or expulsion, by the receiving district? Yes. The same rules and process regarding discipline that apply to resident students also apply to non-resident students attending through school choice. See the Department’s discipline advisory for additional information regarding student discipline. If a receiving district imposes discipline on a school choice student, it must provide alternative educational services. While a student always has the right to re-enroll in the district of residence, a receiving district may not “send a student back” to the district of residence following discipline or otherwise pressure a student to re-enroll in the district of residence. 11 Under the special education regulations at 603 CMR 28.10(6)(b), the school choice district must invite the district of residence to Team meetings “provided such participation [does] not limit the student’s right to a timely evaluation and placement.” 9 28.If a student who is participating in school choice becomes homeless, may the student continue to participate in school choice? Yes. Students who are attending through school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, have a right to continue attending as school choice students through the full course of curriculum. This is true irrespective of whether they become homeless, provided they continue to reside outside the district in which they attend school through school choice. In general, however, school choice students do not have a right to transportation. Alternatively, the student may continue to attend in the school choice district as a homeless student under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. Under McKinney- Vento, students who become homeless have a right either to remain in their “school of origin” or to attend school where they are temporarily residing. The school choice district in which the student was attending school when the student became homeless is the “school of origin.” Homeless students who choose to remain in their school of origin have the right to remain there until the end of the school year in which they get permanent housing, and have additional rights to transportation. Detailed information regarding the education rights of homeless students can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mv/. School choice students who become homeless and who wish to remain in school in the receiving district may choose whether to continue attending as school choice students or whether to exercise their rights to continue attending in the school choice district under McKinney-Vento. While school districts should inform parents, guardians, and students of their rights, school districts may not pressure or otherwise encourage such students to make a particular choice or to give up their rights. The consequences of such a choice are significant. If the student chooses to continue to be a school choice student, they will not have access to transportation services. If the students chooses to continue attending under McKinney-Vento, they will have access to transportation but may not be able to continue attending school in the district beyond the end of the school year in which they get permanent housing. 29.May a homeless student seek admission through school choice? Yes, a homeless student has the same right to seek admission through school choice as any other student who resides in Massachusetts. 30.May a district report to the Department a student as “school choice” solely because the student became homeless and resides temporarily outside the school district in which the student attends school? No. School districts may only report students to the Department as “school choice” if the students have been admitted to the district through the admission process for school choice. Students may not be “converted” to school choice 10 solely because they live outside the district in which they attend school. 31.Are students placed in foster care by the Department of Children and Families school choice students? No. Students who reside in a foster home are not school choice students on that basis alone. Students in foster care, however, may seek admission through school choice to districts other than those in which they live. Detailed information regarding the education of students in foster care can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/foster/. 32.If a student lives in two school districts and attends school in one of those districts, is that student a school choice student? No. If a student lives in two separate residences because his or her parents share physical custody, irrespective of how that time is divided, the student may choose either location as the district of residence for purposes of attending school. That student is considered a resident of whichever district in which he or she chooses to attend school. Such students are not counted or reported as school choice students. 33.If a student lives in two school districts and applies to a third districts through school choice, which district of residence is the sending district? Both districts of residence are sending districts and the school choice tuition is split between the two districts. Transition between Schools 34.Does a student who attends an elementary or K-8 school district through school choice have an automatic right to progress with resident students to a regional high school? No. Effective beginning with fiscal year 2020, school year 2019-20, a school choice student admitted to an elementary or K-8 district does not have a right to attend high school in a regional school district, including a regional vocational technical district. Because regional school districts are districts separate from municipal school districts, those districts separately determine whether to participate in school choice and, if so, into which schools, grades, and programs it will admit students through school choice.12 If the regional school district operating the high school participates in school choice, a non-resident student may seek to attend the regional high school through school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B. 12 Municipalities, as opposed to school districts, are the members of regional school districts. G.L. c. 71, §15. 11 Note: This is a change from the Department’s prior interpretation of the school choice statute, which advised that a non-resident student admitted through school choice had an automatic right to progress to a separate regional school district for later grades. In changing its interpretation, the Department carefully examined the plain language of the statute. Recognizing this shift, students currently admitted to or attending an elementary or K-8 district through school choice will continue to have an automatic right to attend through graduation from the regional school district, consistent with our past guidance. For future students who may seek admission through school choice, the Department now requires municipal school districts to provide clear, written notice that they will not have an automatic right to progress to the regional school district for later grades. This change takes effect starting with students admitted for fiscal year 2020, school year 2019-20. Example Student 1 lives in District A and, beginning in fiscal year 2020, attends school in District B through school choice. District B is a municipal school district and offers grades K-8. Municipality B, the municipality in which District B is located, is a member of a regional school district, District C, for grades 9-12. Student 1 does not have an automatic right to attend high school in District C. Student 1, however, may be able to attend high school in District C if District C participates in school choice and has seats available. 35.How does the right to attend a school choice district through high school graduation apply to a district that tuitions out students in higher grades to a school district that is not a school choice district? Under G.L. c. 71, § 6, school committees of towns not maintaining a high school enter into tuition agreements for students to attend high school. The general premise of school choice is that a receiving district must treat a school choice student in the same way it treats a resident student. Therefore, the receiving district must tuition school choice students to high school in the same manner as it tuitions resident students. The high school into which students are tuitioned will charge the tuition for all students it receives to the K-8 district, including students who were attending the K-8 district through school choice. The K-8 district includes school choice students on its school choice reports and receives the school choice tuition from the students’ communities of residence. Example Student 1 lives in District A and attends school in District B through school choice. District B is a municipal school district and offers grades K-8. Municipality B is not a member of a regional school district. District B, therefore, tuitions its students into District C for high school. Student 1 has a right to attend high school in District C in the same manner as students who reside in District B. District C will receive the agreed-upon 12 tuition from District B, and District B will receive school choice tuition from District A. Transportation and Other Tuition Arrangements 36.Must a school choice district provide transportation to non-resident students with disabilities? Students who participate in the school choice program do not receive transportation services unless those services are included in a student’s IEP. Specialized transportation is considered a “related service” under state and federal laws regarding special education and, if needed, should be included on the student’s IEP. The receiving district would provide this transportation and the sending district would reimburse the receiving district for the cost of providing this service under G.L. c. 76, §12B(f). 37.May a school committee accept students from another school district on a tuition basis apart from school choice? Yes. The school choice law does not affect G.L. c. 76 § 12, which states that [a]ny child, with the consent of the school committee of the town where he resides, may attend, at the expense of said town, the public schools of another town, upon such terms as may be fixed by the two committees. In addition, other statutes, including G.L. c. 71B, § 4 (special education), and G.L. c. 74, § 7 (non-resident vocational technical education),13 explicitly provide additional means for certain students to attend the schools in communities in which they do not live. School choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is a separate program and does not affect these statutes. 38.May a school committee charge tuition for out-of-state residents? Yes. School choice law under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, does not affect G.L. c. 71, § 6A, which allows city, town, and regional school districts to admit non-Massachusetts residents on a tuition basis. That statute also allows school committees to vote to waive the tuition for such students. 13 Inter-district school choice under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, is separate and distinct from the nonresident student tuition process under G.L. c. 74 and 603 CMR 4.00. There are significant differences between the two programs. Additional information regarding the nonresident tuition process may be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/cte/admissions/. 0660 FY FTE Pupils Tuition FTE Pupils Tuition 1996 0.0 0 9.1 82,861 1997 5.5 33,580 13.8 118,775 1998 11.0 79,790 23.8 188,680 1999 12.3 59,371 50.3 322,716 2000 20.8 112,946 61.2 388,610 2001 37.0 199,061 63.5 439,759 2002 36.2 219,725 52.9 352,403 2003 49.4 319,091 57.0 370,878 2004 71.1 448,626 61.9 356,634 2005 70.7 396,519 64.1 388,011 2006 101.0 548,954 58.2 389,849 2007 119.6 689,183 56.4 425,161 2008 151.5 825,448 52.7 412,287 2009 182.5 977,595 49.4 441,335 2010 202.3 1,086,391 47.6 385,129 2011 241.0 1,360,865 35.5 230,955 2012 252.2 1,373,694 31.8 235,809 2013 274.4 1,590,607 36.0 234,410 2014 286.6 1,692,024 25.9 215,500 2015 266.3 1,551,954 35.7 272,444 2016 279.5 1,611,078 32.3 252,619 2017 300.2 1,805,467 27.4 224,648 Receiving Sending Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Office of District and School Finance School Choice Trends in Enrollment and Tuition Nauset 0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 300.0 350.0 400.0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020N FTE PupilsReceiving FTEs Sending FTEs 0660 FY Receiving Choice FTEs Total Enrollment Resident/ Other Enrollment % Choice 1996 0.0 1,700 1,700 0.0% 1997 5.5 1,648 1,643 0.3% 1998 11.0 1,649 1,638 0.7% 1999 12.3 1,695 1,683 0.7% 2000 20.8 1,735 1,714 1.2% 2001 37.0 1,790 1,753 2.1% 2002 36.2 1,797 1,761 2.0% 2003 49.4 1,850 1,801 2.7% 2004 71.1 1,827 1,756 3.9% 2005 70.7 1,790 1,719 3.9% 2006 101.0 1,766 1,665 5.7% 2007 119.6 1,662 1,542 7.2% 2008 151.5 1,528 1,376 9.9% 2009 182.5 1,519 1,336 12.0% 2010 202.3 1,535 1,333 13.2% 2011 241.0 1,526 1,285 15.8% 2012 252.2 1,525 1,273 16.5% 2013 274.4 1,545 1,271 17.8% 2014 286.6 1,584 1,297 18.1% 2015 266.3 1,515 1,249 17.6% 2016 279.5 1,506 1,226 18.6% 2017 300.2 1,464 1,164 20.5% Nauset Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Office of District and School Finance School Choice and Other In-District Enrollment 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 1996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020Resident/other enrollment Receiving choice FTEs Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 MEMORANDUM TO: Select Board FROM: Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator RE: Town’s Response to Eversource’s 2021 Yearly Operational Plan and FY2018-22 Vegetation Management Plan DATE: March 26, 2021 The Town was recently notified by Eversource that they plan to apply herbicide along these power line rights-of-way within the Town of Brewster this year. Please see attached. After discussing this matter with special counsel, the Select Board decided to make the following draft public statement on this matter: “The Brewster Select Board has actively opposed the granting of pesticide spray authority by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to Eversource since 2015. Since that time, the Town has not been subject to pesticide spraying within the utility right-of-way. The Town vigorously opposed the granting of pesticide spray authority by MDAR to Eversource for the five year 2018-2022 Vegetation Management Plan and, although MDAR granted Eversource such authority, the Town was not named as a spray site in subsequent Yearly Operational Plans (YOP) until 2021. In anticipation of pesticides potentially being applied in Brewster in 2021, the Town notified MDAR that doing so would result in formal litigation being instituted by Brewster against MDAR. We expect to file that litigation in Spring 2021. Further, the Town will provide written comment to MDAR objecting to Eversource’s Yearly Operational Plan to apply herbicides in Brewster in 2021 by next month’s deadline.” Office of: Select Board Town Administrator Memorandum DATE:3/18/2021 TO:Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator, Town of Brewster Mary Chafee, Chair, Brewster Select Board FROM:Kimberley C. Pearson MD MS MPH, Chairman, Brewster Natural Resource Advisory Commission SUBJECT:Potential Harmful Effects on Town of Brewster Listed Species of Glyphosate Application Along Eversource Right-of-Way DEADLINE:Public comment period ends 5pm, Friday,April 9, 2021 This memorandum provides support for the Town of Brewster to submit a public comment concerning the Eversource YOP which includes the spraying of the herbicide glyphosate (Rodeo, Round-up) along their right-of-way in the Town. The opinions expressed herein are my own as the issue has yet to be discussed with the full Natural Resource Advisory Commission;however, the end of the Public Comment period on the Eversource YOP falls one day after our next public meeting which would leave insufficient time to achieve consensus and inform other departments of our findings. 1.In its 2021 Yearly Operations Plan, Eversource states its intention to apply the herbicide glyphosate along its right-of-way in Brewster.1 2.Concerns about such applications of herbicides in proximity to the Town’s natural resources have been a public priority over the past several years as demonstrated in Town of Brewster et. al. v. Department of Agricultural Resources.This case was ultimately dismissed on appeal due to2 insufficient demonstration of standing. 3.Since the decision in that legal case, the Best Available Scientific Information (BASI) on the harmful effects of glyphosate has evolved. 4.In November, the United States Environmental Protection Agency released a Draft Biological Evaluation (BE) assessing risks to listed species from labeled uses of glyphosate. Listed species refers to those that are endangered or threatened,as well as those species that are proposed and candidates for listing.(attachment 1)3 5.The Draft BE evaluated glyphosate use in Rights of Way as well as other geographic areas. 6.The findings of the Draft BE were that glyphosate,when used in these locations, is likely to injure or kill 93% of the plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. 7.The Draft BE also found that glyphosate adversely modifies critical habitat for 759 endangered species, or 96% of all species for which critical habitat has been designated. 8.The Town of Brewster includes critical habitats for listed species in proximity to the Eversource right-of-way. (attachment 2) 9.This draft BE, dated November, 2020, presents the Best Available Scientific Information (BASI) on the effects of glyphosate application in rights-of-way. 10.At this time, the draft BE is under active evaluation as the public comment period only recently closed on March 12, 2021. 11.In light of the current ongoing EPA evaluation of glyphosate use in rights-of-way and the public priorities of the Town of Brewster, a public comment should be made to request a stay of glyphosate application until the draft Biological Evaluation is finalized. 3 https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/draft-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluation-glyphosate#executive-summary 2 MS-16-393, 394, 395 and 396. Division of Administrative Law Appeals. 2/27/2017 1 https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/tranmission/veg-management-yearly-operational-plan-cape-cod-marthas-vineyard.pdf?sfvrsn=ef8bde62_4 Attachment 1: United States Environmental Protection Agency Draft National Level Listed Species Biological Evaluation for Glyphosate:Executive Summary Glyphosate Executive Summary for Draft Biological Evaluation This Biological Evaluation (BE) assesses potential risks that registered uses of glyphosate (PC Codes: 417300, 103601, 103604, 103607, 103608, 103613, 103605)may pose to an individual of a listed species or designated critical habitat. The federal action considered in this BE is the Registration Review for glyphosate, which encompasses the review of all the registered uses, and the approved product labels for all pesticide products containing glyphosate. The term “listed species” includes those that are federally listed as endangered and threatened, as well as those that are proposed and candidates for listing and experimental populations. The methods employed in this BE follow the Revised Method for National Level Listed Species Biological Evaluations of Conventional Pesticides (referred to as the “Revised Method”). The Revised Method incorporates4 input from the public, US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA). As described in the Revised Method, EPA’s development of this BE includes two steps. The BE includes an evaluation of whether an individual of a listed species is reasonably expected to be exposed to a pesticide at a level that results in a discernible effect, and, if so, distinguishes effects that are likely to adversely affect an individual of a species from those that are not likely to adversely affect an individual. This process is also applied to the designated critical habitat of listed species (when available). In Step 1, for every listed species and designated critical habitat,EPA determines whether glyphosate will have No Effect (NE) or May Affect (MA) (separate determinations made for each species and critical habitat). For those species and critical habitats with MA determinations,in Step 2, EPA will determine if glyphosate is Not Likely to Adversely Affect (NLAA) or Likely to Adversely Affect (LAA) each individual species or critical habitat. Details on the method, models and tools used for making NE, NLAA and LAA determinations are provided in the Revised Method document. 1 General Information Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in North America. Glyphosate belongs to the phosphono amino acid class of herbicides and is a foliar, non-selective, systemic herbicide widely used to control weeds in agricultural crops and non-agricultural sites. Glyphosate inhibits an enzyme on the shikimate pathway that is essential for the biosynthesis of some aromatic amino acids in algae, higher plants, bacteria and fungi. Inhibition of this enzyme leads to cell death. Glyphosate is used on a wide variety of agricultural food and feed crops, non-food/feed crops, for plantation/silviculture uses, and for nursery/greenhouse use. Important non-agricultural uses include applications for noxious and invasive weed control in aquatic systems, pastures/rangelands,public lands, forestry, and rights-of-way applications. Glyphosate is also used for general weed control or for lawn replacement/renovation in commercial, industrial, and residential areas (by homeowners, landscaping operators, etc.). 4 Available at: https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/revised-method-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluations-con ventional This BE assesses all currently registered labels. The label data used in this assessment were derived from the label/use information compiled by the Joint Glyphosate Task Force (JGTF) and submitted to the Agency to provide further clarification on the label use patterns.APPENDIX 1-2 provides the use information as further refined by EPA, summarizing details relevant for modeling the maximum use patterns.APPENDICES 1-2 and 3-1 provide additional details on how these uses were modeled. Glyphosate is formulated as water-dispersible granules (WG) (80% active ingredient), emulsifiable concentrate (EC) (13.4% - 36.5% active ingredient),water-dispersible liquids (L) (5% - 14.6% active ingredient), ready to use (RTU) (0.81% active ingredient),and soluble concentrate/solid (SC/S) (95.2% - 96.7% active ingredient). Application equipment includes aircraft and various ground equipment. Application is via band treatment, broadcast, crack and crevice treatment, directed spray, edging treatment, ground spray, high volume spray (dilute),low volume spray (concentrate), perimeter treatment, soil broadcast treatment, spot treatment,spray, strip treatment, stump treatment, and wipe-on/wiper treatment. Single application rates are up to 8 pounds active ingredient (as acid equivalents)/acre (lb a.e./A) but are generally 1.55 lb a.e./A for aerial applications and 3.75 lb a.e./A for ground application. Maximum combined annual application rates are up to generally 6 to 8 lbs a.e./A. For some non-agricultural uses, the single application rates were calculated at rates up to 40 lbs a.e./A. These higher rates of 40 lbs a.e./A are calculated by extrapolating up from a smaller area as is expressed on the label (e.g.,rate expressed per 150 sq. feet instead of per acre). These rates are interpreted to be relevant for a wide variety of non-crop areas where total vegetation control is desired. In the absence of a pound a.e/acre rate, these calculated rates were selected for modelling and it is noted that this is an area that may lead to refinement should the labels be revised in the future. Between 2013 and 2018, the national annual total agricultural usage averaged approximately 280 million pounds of glyphosate whereas the average total treated acreage was 285 million. During this time frame, the crops with the most usage in terms of annual average total pounds of active ingredient applied were soybeans (114 million lbs), corn (90 million lbs),and cotton (20 million lbs). The crops with the most usage in terms of total treated acreage were the same with 114, 93 and 19 million acres treated for soybeans, corn and cotton, respectively. Over 21 million pounds of glyphosate are applied to non-agricultural sites annually (APPENDIX 1-4). The major transport routes off the treated area for glyphosate include runoff and spray drift. Glyphosate has a high solubility, low octanol-water partitioning coefficient, low vapor pressure, and low Henry ’s Law Constant. These data suggest that glyphosate has a low potential for volatilization and bioaccumulation. It is assumed that the glyphosate salts dissociate rapidly to form glyphosate acid and the counter ion. The main routes of dissipation are microbial degradation under aerobic conditions, and runoff. Glyphosate is expected to reach surface water primarily through spray drift; however, transport in runoff may also occur primarily via sorption of glyphosate-metal complexes to eroded soil. The highest concentrations of glyphosate in surface water are in urban environments and in the vicinity of local use areas. Additional details on the fate of glyphosate are provided in Chapter 3 of the Biological Evaluation. Glyphosate is an acid which can be associated with different counter cations to form salts. These different salts, which have separate registrations,are included in this assessment. For comparison purposes, in this assessment, each salt is considered in terms of its “glyphosate equivalent,” (acid equivalent; ae) as determined by multiplying the glyphosate salt endpoint value by the acid equivalence ratio (the ratio of the molecular weight of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine to the molecular weight of the salt). For the assessment, both application rates and the toxicity endpoint values are expressed as acid equivalents. Technical glyphosate is practically non-toxic to terrestrial and aquatic animals on an acute exposure basis. Toxicity studies, particularly acute aquatic toxicity studies, show that while some formulated products are less toxic than glyphosate active ingredient alone, others can be up to 2 orders of magnitude more toxic. Formulated glyphosate is moderately to highly toxic to fish, highly to very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates, moderately toxic to mammals, and slightly toxic to birds on an acute exposure basis. In both terrestrial and aquatic animals,technical and formulated glyphosate demonstrate a variety of growth and reproductive effects at a range of chronic exposure concentrations. Glyphosate has demonstrated adverse effects on growth to both vascular and non-vascular aquatic plants as well as terrestrial plants. There have been over 1,000 reported ecological incidents involving glyphosate use for birds, fish, terrestrial invertebrates,and terrestrial plants. More details on the available toxicity data and incident reports are provided in Chapter 2. 2 Exposure Methods Exposure estimates are based primarily on fate and transport model results. Aquatic exposures (surface water and benthic sediment pore water) are quantitatively estimated for representative glyphosate uses in specific geographic regions within generic habitats (referred to as bins) using the Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM5) and the Variable Volume Water Model (VVWM)in the Pesticides in Water Calculator5 (PWC). Aquatic exposure results for the bin(s) most appropriate for the species and/or critical habitat are discussed in Chapter 3. Also discussed in Chapter 3 are available water monitoring data for glyphosate. For terrestrial exposures, existing models [i.e.,AgDRIFT, earthworm fugacity model, Terrestrial Herpetofaunal Exposure Residue Program Simulation (T-HERPS), Terrestrial Residue Exposure model (T-REX) and portions of the Terrestrial Investigation Model (TIM)] were combined and modified into a single tool that is referred to as the MAGTool (Chapter 4). This assessment replaces EPA’s TerrPlant model with the Plant Assessment Tool (PAT), the latter is a more refined exposure model for terrestrial, wetland and aquatic plants. 3 Overlap Analyses Step 1 of the BE involves an analysis of the potential overlap of the action area and individual species ranges and critical habitat. The action area was derived in ArcGIS 10.7 by combining the data layers representative of glyphosate potential uses plus off-site transport. Due to the broad extent of the potential uses the action area has a minimal off-site transport zone, almost all area is captured as potential use. For this reason, a separate ‘drift layer ’ was derived by combining just the off-site transport zone across potential uses then buffering it out to the off-site transport distance estimated using the AgDRIFT model (APPENDIX 1-6). The overlaps of action area and individual species’ ranges or critical habitats were calculated. This analysis used spatial data of species’ ranges and habitats from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In the contiguous United States (ConUS), agricultural potential use sites are represented using the USDA Crop Data Layer (CDL) (APPENDIX 1-6). Other data sources are used to represent agricultural areas in states and US territories outside of the contiguous United States, for which the CDL is not available. All species or critical habitats with some overlap of the action area and their range or designated critical habitat, or with some overlap on species that the listed species depends on (Chapter 4) are assessed in the MAGTool to make LAA/NLAA determinations. 4 Effects Determinations 5 The exposure models can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/models-pesticide-risk-assessment This BE makes effects determinations (NE, NLAA or LAA) for 1795 listed species, and 792 designated critical habitats. For each species and designated critical habitat, the effects determination is based on the methodology detailed in Chapter 1 of this BE and the Revised Method document . No NE6 determinations were made for any species or designated critical habitats; therefore, all species received a MA determination. All species and critical habitats with a MA determination progressed to the Step 2 analysis where an NLAA or LAA determination is made.NLAA determinations were made for 119 species and 33 species’ critical habitat and LAA determinations were made for 1676 species and 759 critical habitats. Most NLAA determinations were based on a qualitative analysis of species, based on factors such as being presumed extinct or having incomplete exposure pathways. Specific species determinations are provided in APPENDIX 4-1. The MAGTool estimates the number of individuals of a listed species that are potentially affected, incorporating the degree of overlap of a species range with potential use sites and associated usage data for a chemical (and associated off-site transport areas) into the effects determinations. Using the toxicity endpoints for each taxon (Chapter 2), the MAGTool utilizes probabilistic methods to assess the likelihood that glyphosate will adversely affect an individual of a given species. To help determine the potential for risk, the MAGtool incorporates many of EPA’s standard pesticide exposure models to estimate exposures to listed species and their prey, pollination, habitat,and dispersal vectors (PPHD). Details on the individual effects determinations are found in APPENDIX 4-1. If the model estimates are not considered representative of the exposure of the species (due to an inconsistency in the exposure model and assessed species’ habitat), a qualitative analysis is conducted. In those cases, EPA makes either a LAA or a NLAA determination based on a qualitative weight of evidence. For each LAA determination, this assessment employs three categories (i.e.,strongest,moderate and weakest) to characterize the strength of the weight of evidence. Each species or critical habitat was assigned a weak, moderate or strong evidence in the LAA determination based on multiple factors, including: the impact of using less conservative assumptions in the analysis, the quality of the species range or usage data, impacts to both the species and PPHD as opposed to only one, the presence of reported incidents involving the species taxa or PPHD taxa, the presence of monitoring data that exceeds endpoints, exposure only due to spray drift and the likelihood of drift into a species habitat (e.g., if the species inhabits forests). Of the LAA determinations, the majority (96% of species and 97% of critical habitats) were considered to have moderate evidence. The majority of the moderate evidence designations were based on non-agricultural uses being the main risk drivers and the lack of availability and uncertainty in usage data associated with these use sites. Strongest evidence was found for <1% of species and <1% of critical habitat LAA determinations. Weakest evidence was found for 4% of species and 3% of critical habitat LAA determinations. Non-agricultural UDLs, including Non-cultivated, Open Space Developed, Right of Way, Forest Trees and Developed were the use sites most frequently associated with predicted impacts to species or critical habitats with LAA determinations, although numerous other non-agricultural and agricultural UDLS may also impact species. The Aquatic Herbicide UDL, which has overlap with all aquatic species ranges and critical habitats, is also anticipated to have potential impacts on aquatic species for which a LAA determination was made. LAA determinations were made for species across all taxa.For certain species, there were uncertainties in the glyphosate effects determinations based on the resolution of spatial data. For species and critical habitats there were uncertainties in the resolution of usage data and the threshold for assessing impacts on PPHD (detailed in Chapter 4).Tables 1 and 2 summarize the NE, NLAA and LAA determinations for species and critical habitats. Table 3 summarizes the strength of evidence classifications for the LAA determinations. 6 Available at: https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/revised-method-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluations-con ventional Table 1. Summary of Species Effects Determinations for Glyphosate (Counts by Taxon). Taxon Step 1 Effects Determinations Step 2 Effects Determinations Total sNo Effect May Affect Not Likely to Adversely Affect Likely to Adversely Affect Mammals 0 99 24 75 99 Birds 0 108 20 88 108 Amphibians 0 36 0 36 36 Reptiles 0 47 14 33 47 Fish 0 190 11 179 190 Plants 0 948 8 940 948 Aquatic Invertebrates 0 207 22 185 207 Terrestrial Invertebrates 0 160 20 140 160 Total 0 1795 119 1676 1795 Percent of total 0%100%7%93% Table 2. Summary of Critical Habitat Effects Determinations for Glyphosate (Counts by Taxon). Taxon Step 1 Effects Determinations Step 2 Effects Determinations TotalsNo Effect May Affect Not Likely to Adversely Affect Likely to Adversely Affect Mammals 0 33 6 27 33 Birds 0 31 1 30 31 Amphibians 0 25 0 25 25 Reptiles 0 16 6 10 16 Fish 0 107 2 105 107 Plants 0 460 4 456 460 Aquatic Invertebrates 0 71 3 68 71 Terrestrial Invertebrates 0 49 11 38 49 Total 0 792 33 759 792 Percent of total 0%100%4%96% Table 3. Classification of LAA Determinations by Strength of Evidence. Strength of LAA call Species range Critical Habitat Number % of LAA determinations Number % of LAA determinations Strongest evidence of LAA 1 <1%6 <1% Moderate evidence of LAA 1605 96%733 97% Weakest evidence of LAA 70 4%20 3% Attachment 2: Partial Inventory of Listed Species Present in Brewster, Massachusetts SPECIES NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME STATUS State Federal REPTILES Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys kempii E E Northern Diamond Backed Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin T Eastern Box Turtle Terapene Carolina SC BIRDS Saltmarsh Sparrow Ammospiza caudacuta SC Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus E American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus E Red Knot Calidris canutus E E Piping Plover Charadrius melodus T T Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius T Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus SC Common Loon Gavia immer SC Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus SC Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus Podiceps E Northern Parula Setophaga americana T Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata SC Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii E E Common Tern Sterna hirundo SC Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea SC Least Tern Sternula antillarum SC Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna SC MAMMALS Little Brown Bat Myotis lucifugus E DAMSELFLIES Attenuated bluet Enallagma daecki T Scarlet bluet Enallagma pictum T Pine-barrens bluet Enallagma recurvatum T Town of Brewster 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631-1898 Phone: (508) 896-3701 Fax: (508) 896-8089 MEMORANDUM TO: Select Board FROM: Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator RE: Summer 2021 Beach Permit Program Update & Proposed Temporary Revisions to Select Board Policy on Beaches and Landings DATE: March 25, 2021 As we prepare for the upcoming summer season, I wanted to share several updates in terms of our annual permit program (beach, recycling center, and shellfishing). The Town will begin issuing new 2021 Beach Parking, Recreational Shellfish, and Recycling Center permits as of April 12, 2021. Applications are included in the Spring 2021 tax bills being sent to residents this week and will be available on the Town website on April 1 (see attached). Once again, there will be no in-person sale of permits at Town Hall this season. Residents can secure permits through the mail-in program or online. Similar to last summer, there will be no weekly non-resident beach parking permits and daily non-resident beach parking permits will be available online only. Those non-residents who wish to visit Brewster beaches will be able to log on to the website to purchase a daily permit. This process will be entirely self-serve and paperless as enforcement will be conducted using license plate reader technology. Updated signage will be installed at all beach parking lots directing beachgoers to our website rather than Town Hall to secure permits. Parking permit enforcement will be in effect from June 15 through September 5, 2021, from 9am-4pm daily. Vehicles parked without a valid 2021 resident permit or non- resident daily permit will be fined $40.00. This will be strictly enforced by the Brewster Police Department. Trash/recycling bins and temporary restroom facilities will be available at all standard Town locations according to their typical schedule beginning in April/May. These will be cleaned regularly, consistent with state and federal standards. Office of: Select Board Town Administrator There will be no non-resident shellfish permits again this year. Continued suspension of non-resident shellfish permits will allow the Town to offer this valued service to our residents without any further restrictions. This offering was in very high demand last year with our residents. In addition, based on current state protocols (see attached) and the success of last year’s program, we plan to continue our beach ambassador initiative this summer. In doing so, the Town will have staff present at our beaches on a daily basis. They will work 7 days a week from 10AM to 4PM, with rotating crews and location assignments, from mid-June until early September. Their primary focus will remain on educating residents and guests about guidelines regarding social distancing, mask wearing, and limitations on larger gatherings. The modified access paths that we created last year will remain in place, including recent upgrades at Saints Landing. Our goal is to deliver as safe and positive of an experience as we can to our beachgoers, recognizing that our beaches are a vital amenity for many. Federal CARES funds will fully offset these operational costs. Finally, based on weekly feedback from the beach ambassadors last year and current state protocols on beach activity, the Town plans to institute limited parking restrictions in the following beach lots in May 2021 to allow sufficient room for social distancing at these locations: Fisherman’s Landing (Sheep Pond) - 1/2 of lot to the left as you enter Breakwater Landing – Upper lot Long Pond Beach – 1/4 of lot (less than last year) We will actively monitor beach activity and crowding on these beaches, especially once beach permits are required in June, as well as changes to relevant state guidelines, and may make changes to these restrictions. In reviewing Select Board Policy #22 regarding Town beaches and landing, we recommend that the Board vote to temporarily revise this policy to accommodate the proposed modifications in this memo for Summer 2021 due to the pandemic. Memorandum From: Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Date: March 22, 2021 Subject: Safety Standards for Coastal and Inland Beaches – Phase IV, Step 1 The following are safety standards for the management and use of coastal and inland beaches in the Commonwealth for Phase IV, Step 1 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening. All beach managers and visitors should adopt the specific guidelines outlined herein. Property- specific guidelines should be posted at entrance points to beach areas and on relevant social media/websites. Guidelines provided herein apply to all inland and coastal beaches unless otherwise specified. This guidance will apply until amended or rescinded. Coastal and Inland Beaches – Manager and User Guidelines for Parking and Capacity To allow for adequate social distancing for ingress, egress, and transit across the beach, beach capacity should be managed to accommodate a minimum of 12 feet distance between toweling/beach blanket groups. Toweling/Beach blanket groups are limited to groups no larger than 15. Parking lots, people entering the beach or other factors should be managed, if necessary, to limit beach capacity to accommodate adequate social distancing based on an assessment by the beach manager. Loading and unloading times for people and personal items at drop off areas should be limited, where possible. No loitering, tailgating. Picnic areas should be closed if social distancing cannot be maintained. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114 Charles D. Baker GOVERNOR Karyn E. Polito LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Kathleen A. Theoharides SECRETARY Tel: (617) 626-1000 Fax: (617) 626-1081 http://www.mass.gov/eea User Guidelines Beach visitors are required to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet or more at all times and visitors should maintain at least 12 feet minimum distance between toweling/beach blanket areas. Face coverings are required for all visitors in accordance with COVID-19 Order 55: Revised Order Requiring Face Coverings in Public Places to prevent against the transmission of COVID-19. Face coverings should not be worn while swimming. Persons seeking to organize (1) any gatherings or events on a beach must follow the gatherings order and Safety Standards for Theaters and Performance Venues and Indoor and Outdoor Event Standard, or (2) any youth or adult amateur sport or other recreational activities must follow the Workplace Safety and Reopening Standards for Businesses and Other Entities Providing Youth and Adult Amateur Sports Activities guidance. Beach visitors shall abide by social distancing standards for bathroom lines and follow any established visual guidelines for maintaining a 6 feet distance in all restroom and locker room facilities. Over Sand Vehicle (OSV) Coastal Beaches Capacity for OSV beaches should be calculated by beach manager. Methodology for calculating beach capacity of OSVs should account for at least one car length (15 to 20 feet) between vehicles at high tide. Capacity for OSV should be clearly outlined and signed for potential users and made available on social media. Activities on OSV beaches should follow guideline of Beach Activities listed above. Lifeguards A minimum distance of 6 feet should be maintained between lifeguards, the public and lifeguard stands except in the case of an emergency. Admissions/Contact Stations/Rentals Admission/entry transactions, where possible, should be carried out through a no contact process such as online reservations, timed-ticketing, permit/sticker issuance or an on-site electronic transaction method that allows for social distancing guidelines to be followed. If not feasible, hand transactions and cash may be allowed. Any necessary visitors-staff interactions, whether in a vehicle or on foot, should be in accordance with social distancing. If renting equipment, all equipment must be cleaned and disinfected between use. If items cannot be properly disinfected, rental should not be allowed. Masks and snorkels should not be rented. Restrooms, Comfort Stations, Showers, Locker Rooms, Changing Areas Managers should ensure that users can abide by social distancing standards for bathroom lines and follow any established visual guidelines for maintaining a 6-foot distance in all restroom facilities. In advance of the initial opening of public restrooms, the managing entity should adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines pertaining to the cleaning and disinfection standards for interior spaces and that social distancing can be maintained. The managing entity should have the facilities cleaned at least once daily by staff and perform deep cleaning and disinfection services at least once per week and should follow the EEA COVID-19 Outdoor Recreation Facility Restroom Cleaning Best Practices. Restroom facilities should contain adequate hand washing and/or sanitizer stations. Locker rooms, shower and changing areas must be limited to 50% capacity. Managers should ensure that users can abide by capacity restrictions and social distancing standards and are encouraged to establish signage and visual guidelines. Signage should remind users to limit time spent in enclosed areas. Allow water fountains to be used as refill stations only, provided that social distancing can be maintained. Customers and workers should bring their own water bottles or purchase from the business. Food Service, Concessions, and Vending Food service, concession and restaurants shall follow all applicable food service and restaurant standards. Trash Disposal and Management Trash disposal at beaches is available at the discretion of the city or town it is located in and/or the managing organization. Visitors of beaches should expect limited or no trash disposal receptacles. When visiting beaches without trash receptacles, visitors should adhere to a strict “carry in, carry out” policy and take waste with them. Where trash receptacles are available for normal use, beach managers should where feasible, provide no touch, lidless trashcans. Shuttle Service to Beach Facilities Shuttle services to the beach may operate at up to 50% vehicle capacity. The shuttle operator should ensure that distance is maintained between groups, such as marking those seats that can be used and/or leaving rows or certain seats unoccupied. Facial coverings must be worn by the driver, staff and all users at all times while inside the vehicle. Windows should be opened when feasible to increase ventilation. MAILING INSTRUCTIONS FOR 2021: RESIDENT BEACH, SHELLFISH, BREWSTER RECYCLING CENTER PERMITS PERMITS FOR THE 2021 SEASON ARE NOT FOR SALE IN PERSON THIS YEAR. The Beach & Recycling Center Sales Permit Department, located in the Chamber of Commerce, Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 will be closed for the 2021 season. Alternatively, we are giving residents the option of purchasing their permits through the mail or online. Instructions for placement of permits are located on each individual permit. Rates: A) Beach Resident Parking Permits B) Brewster Recycling Center Permits $25.00 each for 1st & 2nd vehicle $50.00 first permit $40.00 each additional vehicle $15.00 each additional permit C) Shellfish License $25.00 You must designate which permit(s) you want to put on which vehicle (by registration number) by filling out and sending in the form on the back of this document. 1.Beach parking permits will be required June 15 – September 5, 2021. 2.Your current 2020-2021 Brewster Recycling Center permit expires on June 30, 2021. 3.Please provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope. If a stamped envelope is not included with your payment, permits cannot be mailed back to you. 4.A copy of a valid car registration must be provided for each vehicle. Please make sure the license plate number and expiration date is legible on the registration. 5.If the address on your vehicle registration is not a Brewster address, you must provide a copy of your current Brewster real estate tax bill with an annual minimum amount of $450.00 to be eligible. 6.Dependent Children under age 19 (or up to age 24 with a college ID) who live with the listed property owner are eligible with valid registration and identification with the same year round address as the listed property owner (driver’s license, picture ID or student ID). 7.Renters and life-tenants must provide a copy of a current 12 month lease or 12 months of utility bills in their name, in addition to the copy of the current vehicle registration. 8.If the vehicle is leased, along with your registration, you must include a copy of the lease or a monthly bill that connects your name with the registered vehicle you are seeking to permit. 9.If your vehicle is registered to a business, you must include a business card with your name & the name of the business to which the vehicle is registered or a letter on company letterhead authorizing your personal use, connecting you to the business and the vehicle. 10.For properties held in trust and/or LLC, you must provide a copy of the pages which show the property address and names of trustees or LLC members. Only named trustees and LLC members are eligible for resident beach parking or recycling center permits. (Excludes trustees of life-estates and “remainder” interests until owners of property are deceased.) 11.Shellfish licenses may also be purchased by mail. Shellfish permits are valid from January 1st through December 31st. If you are over 70, please contact the Council on Aging for your lifetime permit. Rules and Regulations for shellfish licenses can be obtained at our website: www.beachpermit.brewster-ma.gov ***** Should you choose to purchase your resident beach, recycling center or shellfish permit by mail, please include one check for beach, recycling center, and shellfish permits payable to Town of Brewster, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and the form on the back of this document. The check for permits MUST be separate from real estate tax payments. Beginning April 12, 2021 Resident/Taxpayers have the option of purchasing 2021 beach, shellfish and recycling center permits on line via credit card payment. Please refer to the Town’s website,www.beachpermit.brewster-ma.gov for instructions and information on how to use the on-line system. Please note there is a convenience charge when using the on-line system. RESIDENT/TAX PAYER BREWSTER RECYCLING CENTER, BEACH & SHELLFISH To purchase Brewster Recycling Center, Beach or Shellfish Permits by mail, please send copies of the following: 1-Automobile Registration(s) 2-Proof of Residence (Only if your vehicle is not registered in Brewster) 3-Self-addressed, stamped envelope 4-Check payable to " Town of Brewster" Mail to: Town of Brewster, 2198 Main Street, Brewster MA 02631 Attention: SELECT BOARD OFFICE If your car is not registered in Brewster, include a copy of current Brewster RE tax bill in the amount of $450 or more PLEASE NOTE: Renters need to provide current 12 month lease or 12 months’ worth of utility bills If your vehicle is registered to a business, please include a business card If your vehicle is leased, please include a copy of your lease or a monthly bill For properties held in trust or LLC, documents showing named trustees/members & address VEHICLE INFORMATION TYPE OF PERMIT FOR EACH VEHICLE: 1st Recycling, Additional Recycling, Beach, Shellfish LICENSE PLATE #STATE AMOUNT EXAMPLE: 1st Recycling & 1st Beach XXX 333 MA $75.00 1-1- 2-2- 3-3- 4-4- 5-5- PRICES: TOTAL AMOUNT DUE:$1st Recycling $50.00 per vehicle Additional Recycling $15.00 per vehicle 1st & 2nd Beach $25.00 each per vehicle Each Additional Beach $40.00 per vehicle Shellfish License $25.00 per household www.brewster-ma.gov ( NAME: BREWSTER ADDRESS: Email Address: DAYTIME TELEPHONE: MAILING ADDRESS: Breakwater Landing& Little Breakwater PARKING BEACH BEACH PATH RESTRO OMS REGULATIONSIGNAGE Potential Bottleneck:Staircase W idth 3 ft PARKING BEACH Potential Bottleneck:Path Width <9 ft REGULATIONSIGNAGE Bre akwater Little Breakwate rParking Capaci ty 57 6Beach Area 10,000 sq.ft 1,600 sq.ftBeach Path Le ngth 150 ft (130 ft Mobi Mats)50 ftAverage Path Wi dth 10 f t 3 ftRestroomsyesno Sheep Pond Beach BO AT L AUNCHADA VIEWING PLATFO RM BEACH RESTRO OMS PARKING Parki ng Capaci ty 16Beach Are a 2,100 sq.ftRestroomsyesBoat Launch ye s Lond Pond Beach SWIM FLOATSSWIM FLOATS ADA VIEWING PLATFO RM BEACH KAYAK STORAGE RESTRO OMS BEACH IS STAFFED WITH LIFEG UARDS Parki ng Capaci ty 37Beach Are a 5,000 sq.ftKayak Capaci ty 9Restroomsye sBoat Launch ye s BO AT L AUNCH PARKING Updated 4/30/2018 Cape Cod Bay Beaches Parking Spaces Paines Creek Breach 19 Mant’s Landing (Robbins Hill Beach) 35 Saints Landing Beach 38 Breakwater Landing 6 Breakwater Beach 57 Point of Rocks 14 Ellis Landing 16 Linnell Landing 26 Crosby Beach 58 Crosby Overflow Parking 80 349 Freshwater Ponds in Nickerson State Park (3 HP Limit) Cliff Pond Little Cliff Pond Flax Pond Higgins Pond Freshwater Ponds with Landings or Launches ( 3HP Limit) Long Pond Beach 37 Fisherman’s Landing (Sheep Pond) 16 Upper Mill Pond 30 Walker Pond 10 Slough Pond 4 Schoolhouse Pond 4 101 Ponds without Public Landings Seymour Pond Greenland Pond Smalls Pond Mill Pond Cahoon Pond Grassy Pond Mud Pond Cobbs Pond Myricks Pond Freeman’s Pond Smith Pond Canoe Pond Pine Pond Dark Bottom Pond Calf Field Pond Elbow Pond FYI ITEMS (MAIL) March 29, 2021 1.Educational Facilities Planning Services RFP 2.February Housing Coordinator Update – Jill Scalise 3.Nauset News v.6 4.PRIM Quarterly Report 5.Temporary Borrowing Memo – Lisa Vitale Sealed Request for Proposal (RFP) for "Educational Facilities Planning Services to evaluate the educational adequacy of space within our Two Elementary Schools" will be received until 11:00am on May 11, 2021, at the Office of the Town Administrator, Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631. RFP's received after such time will not be accepted. Sealed envelopes containing RFP's must be clearly marked in accordance with the Instruction to Bidders. This RFP will be awarded by the Brewster Elementary School Committee/Town of Brewster, in conjunction with the Nauset School’s Superintendent and the Brewster Town Administrator. The work shall consist of written proposals from qualified consultants to provide Brewster Elementary Schools/Town of Brewster educational facilities planning services to evaluate the educational adequacy of space within our two schools. All RFPs for this project are subject to applicable bidding laws of Massachusetts. To the extent applicable, the following sections of Massachusetts General Laws are incorporated herein by reference: M.G.L. Chapter 30B The bidder shall satisfy the Brewster Elementary Schools/Town of Brewster that the Proposer has sufficient capital and a plan to complete the work successfully within the time named. The decision of judgment, by the Brewster Elementary Schools/Town of Brewster, on these matters will be final, conclusive and binding. The bidder agrees that this RFP shall be good and may not be withdrawn for a period of 90 calendar days after RFP's are due. In the event of any inconsistency between the RFP, information for bidders, bid forms, conditions or any other applicable statutes, by-laws or regulations existing on the date on which the bid is submitted, then the statute, by-laws or regulations shall govern. Such inconsistency shall not be grounds for invalidating the bidding. Request for Proposal (RFP) documents will be available at 8:30am Monday April 5, 2021 at the Brewster Town Offices, 2198 Main Street Brewster, MA 02631. Documents may be requested via e-mail to: Donna J. Kalinick, Procurement Officer, dkalinick@brewster-ma.gov include "Educational Facilities Planning Services" in the subject field. The Brewster Elementary Schools / Town of Brewster reserves the right to waive any informalities or reject any or all bids. For the Brewster Elementary Schools, For the Town of Brewster, Tom Conrad, Superintendent of Schools Peter Lombardi, Town Administrator Brewster Housing Coordinator Update February 2021 Jill Scalise Ongoing Activities/ Projects 1.Community Outreach and Education (Housing Production Plan (HPP) Strategy #13) Responded to email and phone requests for information and assistance, 44 total requests for housing information (26) or assistance (18). 2.Millstone Parcel (Select Board Strategic Plan Goal H-3, HPP Strategy #15) The Housing Trust is working with Laura Shufelt, Mass Housing Partnership (MHP), to draft the Millstone Request for Proposal (RFP). This will continue over the coming the months at Housing Trust meetings. 3.Brewster Affordable Housing Trust Fund (BAHT) (HPP Strategy #7) Continued work on Millstone property, Rental Assistance Program and SHI. Information throughout update. 4.Brewster Rental Assistance Program (B-RAP) (Strategic Plan H-2) with COVID emergency assistance Program continues. Quarterly report from Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC). Able to aid five households with over $19,000 of RAFT funds. 5.Brewster COVID -19 Fund Applications, interviews, follow-up & funding continue. For info: covidrelieffund@brewster-ma.gov 6.Brewster Housing Partnership (BHP) (HPP Strategy #16) BHP is sponsoring a Local Preference & Fair Housing Virtual Educational Forum 3/25/21. Worked on planning for forum presentation with MHP. Also will include Select Board, CPC, Housing Trust. 7.Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) (HPP Strategy #10) Waiting on DHCD & legal processes for preservation of several uninhabited SHI properties. Responded to several requests for information regarding refinancing of affordable homes. 8.Redevelop Existing Properties for Affordable Housing (HPP Strategy #6) Elevation Financial Group is redeveloping 873 Harwich Rd. into 131, age 55+ rental units. Continued communication with Elevation and work towards Local Action Unit (LAU) application for affordable units & placement on SHI. Provided information for next steps and fair housing lottery agents. 9.Comprehensive Permit Projects (HPP Strategy #14) Brewster Woods (30 affordable rental units): Infrastructure work continues. Donna Kalinick is overseeing MassWorks grant. Bi-weekly construction meetings. Site Visit. Gave tour to HAC representatives. Working to participate in MassDocs for closing of developer’s construction loan. Habitat for Humanity- Paul Hush Way- ZBA approved form of Home Owners Association documents as required for comprehensive permit. 10. Collaboration (HPP Strategy #9) With Donna Kalinick, presented about Brewster Housing at Mass Housing Partnership virtual training “How Communities are Supporting the Development of Affordable Housing.” Participated in HOME Consortium and MA Making the Case for Affordable Housing Zoom meeting. New Projects/ Upcoming Activities. Local Preference & Fair Housing Virtual Educational Forum with MHP scheduled for 6PM March 25th Habitat for Humanity- Red Top Road- Local Initiative Program (LIP) application request expected to come before the Select Board in April for two affordable homes. Personnel Worked with: Assessor, Building Dept., CPC, Health Dept., Housing Partnership, Housing Trust, Planning Dept., Select Board, and Town Administration. Participated in Housing Trust & Partnership meetings, also attended ZBA meeting. Attended trainings: Local Initiative Program: How to Create Community Supported Housing, Lower Cape Housing 101, and Zoning & Land Use Implications: Housing Choice Law Nauset Public Schools March 15, 2021 Nauset believes … every child matters 1 NAUSET NEWS Nauset Regional High School Building Project Student Spotlight What do students at Nauset Regional High School think of their school? K.C. Myers of the Provincetown Independent interviewed eight Nauset students who share their Nauset experiences and their opinion on the need for renovations at the high school. They also address the topic of School Choice. Hear what the students have to say at StudentVoices. Want the FAQs? What is the Nauset renovation project? Why do we need it? What will it cost me? What is the benefit? What is (not) on the March 30 ballot? To answer these questions and get even more details on the renovation project, go to: NausetRenovationFAQs and NausetProjectOverview Nauset Public Schools March 15, 2021 Nauset believes … every child matters 2 JOIN US for Informational Zoom Meetings The topic for the next informational zoom meeting will be School Choice. Please join us for this presentation on Wednesday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. Participants are encouraged to submit their questions during the Zoom meeting for the Q&A session that will follow the presentation. https://zoom.us/j/91924602088 US: +1 929 205 6099 Webinar ID: 919 2460 2088 What is School Choice? The Massachusetts Inter-district School Choice Program was established in 1991. The Nauset Regional District began participating in the Choice program in 1997, at which time Nauset had 5.5 FTE students coming to Nauset through Choice and 13.8 FTE students leaving the District through Choice. Today every Cape Cod traditional public high school participates in School Choice. In the current school year 262 students from other Districts came to Nauset High School and Middle School through the Choice program and 43 Nauset students left the the District through Choice. What are the Benefits of School Choice? School Choice brings Nauset both students and resources. Whether drawn to a particular school through its academic, arts, or athletic programs or other personal preference, Choice allows students to choose the school that they believe best fits their educational needs while increasing the diversity at the receiving school Choice students also bring revenue ($5000/student plus special education funds). Over the last 11 years, Nauset has received an average of over $1.6 million per year from the Choice program. This income stream allowed the District to broaden and deepen the curriculum for all students and to reduce annual assessments to member towns. What is the Cost of School Choice? For the most part, School Choice students are admitted to a district on a “space available” basis and additional costs are limited to the cost of consumable supplies. Why doesn’t it cost more, e.g., the difference between a district’s per pupil cost and the $5000 Choice tuition? To answer this, one needs to differentiate between fixed and variable costs as well as consider the distribution of students and class size. Choice students are distributed across existing classes, increasing class size from e.g., 15 to 20. The cost of the classroom, teacher, utilities, etc. are fixed and do not increase with the additional students. No additional teachers were hired at the Middle School to accommodate Choice students. Because additional electives were added to the curriculum at the high school, it is estimated that about 6.5 FTE teachers are required to cover the expanded curriculum, the cost of which is more than covered by Choice revenue. FAQs - School Choice What would happen if we eliminated School Choice? Just as the School Choice program brings Nauset students and resources, we would lose both if we stopped participating in School Choice. There would be fewer students to populate many of the elective and extracurricular classes, and unless member towns increased their assessments to make up for the lost revenue, there would be fewer classes. The reduction in classes would come about by cutting programs from the curriculum - any class not required for graduation as well as extracurricular activities would be vulnerable to cuts. Opting out of School Choice for the District does not mean that Nauset resident students would be precluded from choosing to attend school in another district. Choicing out of one’s school district is open to all students in Massachusetts. Is the March 30 vote about School Choice? No. The March 30 vote only concerns the proposed NRHS renovation; it is not a referendum on School Choice. NAV $ (000)Target Allocation RangeActual Allocation % Month FY '21Calendar YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 YearSince InceptionGLOBAL EQUITY38,081,357 34 - 44% 43.5% 3.00 29.68 3.07 31.74 10.31 14.81 9.43 7.02 CORE FIXED INCOME13,780,811 12 - 18% 15.8% -2.82 -2.76 -4.10 0.78 6.92 4.29 5.03 7.25VALUE ADDED FIXED INCOME *6,332,542 5 - 11% 7.2% 0.14 11.97 0.64 6.05 4.77 7.05 5.55 7.78 PRIVATE EQUITY *10,777,248 10 - 16% 12.3% -0.09 29.95 -0.21 26.81 20.83 20.18 19.04 15.27REAL ESTATE *7,340,592 7 - 13% 8.4% 1.37 7.04 1.47 3.92 6.77 7.24 9.62 6.59TIMBERLAND *2,806,592 1 - 7% 3.2% 0.12 3.30 0.04 4.60 2.41 4.42 4.75 7.93PORTFOLIO COMPLETION STRATEGIES *7,905,869 8 - 14% 9.0% 2.56 12.39 4.09 5.92 3.31 4.90 4.20 4.40OVERLAY385,890 0.0% 0.4% 0.77 12.46 0.52 18.85 6.46 7.37 5.90TOTAL CORE87,479,142 100%100%1.1717.911.1417.799.1311.188.769.481.00 16.66 0.94 17.43 9.10 11.01 8.16 9.85TOTAL CORE BENCHMARK (using private equity and private debt benchmark) 21.14 13.87 1.23 15.43 8.25 10.34 7.42 9.67PARTICIPANTS CASH 27,018 0.01 0.08 0.01 0.29 1.57 1.32 0.74 3.57TEACHERS' AND EMPLOYEES' CASH25,869 0.01 0.08 0.01 0.30 1.54 1.30 0.73 2.42 TOTAL FUND87,532,029 1.1717.851.1417.739.1111.158.739.53PENSION RESERVES INVESTMENT TRUST* Certain Value-Added Fixed Income investments, Private Equity, certain Real Estate investments, Timberland, and certain Portfolio Completion Strategy investments are valued only at calendar quarter ends (March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31).Periods Ending February 28, 2021*RATES OF RETURN (GROSS OF FEES)SUMMARY OF PLAN PERFORMANCEINTERIM BENCHMARK (using private equity and private debt returns) 13 mapension.com | 84 State Street, Suite 250, Boston, MA 02109 | (617) 946-8401 PRIM Board Quarterly Update Fourth Quarter 2020 PRIM Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Michael G. Trotsky, CFA, provided the following information to the PRIM Board at its February 24, 2021, meeting: Market and PRIT Fund Performance As of December 31, 2020, the PRIT Fund stood at $87 billion, an all-time high, with a calendar year gain of 12.6% (12.1% net of fees). Following a weak first half in the financial markets caused by the onset of the COVID pandemic and its associated economic damage, the second half return rebounded strongly. For the six-month period ending December 31, 2020, the PRIT Fund returned 16.6%, the largest six-month return in PRIM’s history, surpassing the previous high of 15.7% in June of 1986. The relative return for the six-month period is also the strongest in PRIM’s entire history, with the PRIT Fund outperforming its benchmark, net of fees, by 388 basis points for the six-month period ending December 31, 2020. For calendar year 2020, the PRIT Fund gained 12.1%, net of fees, outperforming its benchmark by 132 basis points. This return equates to an investment gain of $9.6 billion, approximately $1 billion above our benchmark return. All major asset classes had positive returns for the year led by Private Equity with a 24.5% return, Global Equity with a 15.7% return, and Core Fixed Income with a 12.0% return. The PRIT Fund continues to perform well in both up and down markets – down markets like the March quarter where the Fund performed admirably, but also in up markets like in the September and December quarters. Net outflows to pay benefits were approximately $1.5 billion during the year. In recent months, market participants frequently looked beyond near-term bad news such as increases in positive tests and COVID-related deaths; logistical problems delivering the vaccines; and emergent variants of the virus to the bright spots in economic data such as continuing GDP growth; a rise in US industrial production; and a very healthy housing market. However, the clampdown on business and social activities over the holiday period led to a slight deceleration in economic activity more recently. For example, in January, the ISM manufacturing index was weaker than expected, new unemployment claims were still running close to 800,000 a week, and retail sales fell about 1%, missing forecasts. January marked the third Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 2 consecutive month of declines in consumption, starting after the last stimulus checks were exhausted in early autumn. Even these near-term issues have not been enough to stop staggeringly strong markets, mostly due to a few hopeful new developments including: 1) the new administration is promoting a new $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which is viewed as good news for the economy, at least in the near term; 2) a new, more centralized federal response to the virus is expected to finally curtail it; and 3) signals that the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury will work closely together and continue to be accommodative under the new Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. There is still much economic, political, and public health uncertainty to monitor, and recently we witnessed new market dynamics as retail investors, fueled by social media, began to congregate to move markets, or more accurately, to move individual stocks in a stampede fashion without regard to underlying fundamentals. There are many factors at play – economic, political, public health, behavioral, and social -- and we believe that these influences may result in continuing market volatility. As a result, we completed the 2021 asset allocation analysis with a recommendation to make no material changes. PRIM’s asset allocation model uses internally developed, quantitative techniques, which maximize the probability of achieving our dual objective: a 7.15% long-term return and no drawdowns of more than 20% over a 3-year period. We believe our current asset allocation policy will position the PRIT Fund to perform well in various market conditions and outcomes. PRIT Fund Performance • For the one-year ended December 31, 2020, the PRIT Fund was up 12.6%, (12.1% net), outperforming the total core benchmark of 10.8% by 178 basis points (132 bps net). o This equates to an investment gain of $9.6 billion, net of fees. o This equates to $1.0 billion of value above the benchmark return, net of fees. • Net total outflows to pay benefits for the one-year ended December 31, 2020, were approximately $1.5 billion. The following charts summarize the PRIT Fund performance for the period ending December 31, 2020: Total PRIT Fund Returns Annualized Returns as of December 31, 2020 (Gross of Fees) Source: BNY Mellon. Total Core Benchmark includes private equity benchmark. 12.6% 8.8% 10.4% 8.9% 10.8% 8.0% 9.5% 7.6% 1.8% 0.9%0.9%1.4% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Total Fund Return Total Core Benchmark Value Added Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 3 PRIT Asset Class Performance Vs. Benchmark One Year Ended December 31, 2020 (Gross of Fees) * Source: BNY Mellon. Totals may not add due to rounding. * Benchmark is actual performance. ** Hedge Funds returns are net of fees. PRIT Fund Periodic Table of Returns by Asset Class (Gross of Fees) as of December 31, 2020 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year PRIVATE EQUITY 26.4% PRIVATE EQUITY 21.0% PRIVATE EQUITY 20.2% PRIVATE EQUITY 19.1% GLOBAL EQUITY 15.9% GLOBAL EQUITY 9.7% GLOBAL EQUITY 12.5% REAL ESTATE 9.7% CORE FIXED INCOME 12.1% CORE FIXED INCOME 7.4% VALUE-ADDED FIXED INCOME 6.9% GLOBAL EQUITY 9.6% VALUE-ADDED FIXED INCOME 4.5% REAL ESTATE 5.9% REAL ESTATE 6.9% VALUE-ADDED FIXED INCOME 5.7% TIMBER 3.5% VALUE-ADDED FIXED INCOME 4.8% CORE FIXED INCOME 6.3% CORE FIXED INCOME 5.5% REAL ESTATE 1.1% TIMBER 2.4% TIMBER 4.4% TIMBER 4.7% PCS 0.8% PCS 2.0% PCS 3.6% PCS 4.0% Source: BNY Mellon. Returns as of December 31, 2020. 26.4%15.9%12.1%4.5%3.5%1.1%0.8%26.4%15.3%11.2%3.9%0.2%0.7%5.0%0.0%0.6%0.9%0.7%3.3%0.5%-4.2%-9.0% -4.0% 1.0% 6.0% 11.0% 16.0% 21.0% 26.0% 31.0% Private Equity* Global Equity Core Fixed Income Value Added Fixed Income Timberland Real Estate Portfolio Completion Strategies**Asset Class Benchmark Value Added Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 4 Organizational Updates On January 14, 2021, Governor Baker signed into law Chapter 358 of the Acts of 2020, “An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth”. Section 14 of Chapter 358 includes a provision to increase the diversity of PRIM’s investment managers and contractors to at least 20% and increase access for minorities, women, and disabled investment managers and business partners. Treasurer Goldberg strongly advocated for this initiative and worked directly with Representative Chynah Tyler and Senator Paul Feeney, who filed the bill. We believe the new legislation is a continuation of the important diversity and inclusion work PRIM has been doing to further increase access for minorities, women, and people with disabilities. The new law sets goals and formalizes procedures and reporting requirements. PRIM is currently developing an implementation plan with David Gurtz, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, leading the effort. The PRIM Board approved Phillip H. Perelmuter as the newest member of PRIM’s Investment Committee at the February Board meeting. Phil, who was nominated by Treasurer Goldberg, recently retired from Wellington Management after 25 years. For 11 years, he served as one of the firm’s three Managing Partners in addition to his roles as a Portfolio Manager, the Director of Investment Research, and the Head of EMEA during a 5-year assignment in London. Before joining Wellington, Phil worked in Institutional Sales at CS First Boston and as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. Phil graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He has served as a member of the UK Diversity Project’s CEO Advisory Board and the Advisory Committee of the Boston Latino Legacy Fund, and currently serves on the National Board of the Posse Foundation. Phil is the son of Cuban immigrants and was born and raised in the Little Havana section of Miami, Florida. He and his wife currently live in Needham and have three adult children. Michael Bailey left PRIM at the end of January to take a position at Fidelity Investments. We wish Michael well in his new position, and we are grateful to him for his service to PRIM and the Commonwealth. While PRIM has had several strong contributors through the years, Michael’s contribution to PRIM was exceptional. During his eight-year tenure at PRIM, he cemented PRIM’s legacy as having the top Private Equity portfolio in the country. He is a gentleman, an exemplary employee, and role model at PRIM, and will be sorely missed. Michael McGirr was promoted to Director of Private Equity - Senior Investment Officer to replace Michael Bailey. Michael has been an outstanding member of PRIM’s Private Equity team for seven years, and we are fortunate to have such a strong member of the team to take over and ensure continuity. Michael has consistently been one of the highest-performing and most valued employees at PRIM; he is highly respected by his colleagues and the entire private equity industry. He and the team established and built a rigorous, consistent investment process to guide private equity portfolio construction and manager selection. In addition to his daily responsibilities managing some of PRIM’s most important Private Equity relationships and sourcing new ideas, Michael has been leading PRIM’s Private Equity’s cutting-edge research. Michael also was responsible for managing Sarah Zatoonian and Eliza Haynes, two Investment Analysts on PRIM’s Private Equity team, and he has mentored several PRIM summer interns. Michael joined PRIM in April of 2014 from Bain Capital in Boston, where he was an investment manager. Prior to Bain, Michael worked at the Minnesota State Board of Investment, where he was a portfolio manager of an alternative investment portfolio with $9 billion in assets. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Richmond, Michael began his career as a professional baseball player where he was a pitcher in the Oakland Athletics system. He later earned a Master of Business Administration from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Michael is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a member of the CFA Society Boston, and a member of the Institutional Limited Partners Association Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 5 (ILPA) Content Committee. In 2018, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg awarded Michael the Commonwealth Citation for Outstanding Performance. Michael lives with his wife and three daughters in Winchester. We congratulate Michael McGirr, and thank Michael Bailey, and wish him well. New Employee Shannon Ericson joined the Risk team last month as a Senior Investment Officer reporting to Jay Leu. Shannon brings to PRIM over 20 years of investment industry experience, including 15 years with LMCG Investments as a quantitative portfolio manager in developed international and emerging market equities. Prior to that, Shannon served as a quantitative analyst in international equities at Evergreen Investments and Independence International Associates. Most recently, Shannon was an asset allocation portfolio manager at Brighthouse Financial. Shannon earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Bentley College and an MBA from Bentley College. Shannon also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. We are very excited to have Shannon join the team. Retirement Paul Todisco, PRIM’s legendary head of Client Services, is retiring at the end of March. Paul is a very special individual who has been dedicated to serving the public for almost forty years, including 31 years with PRIM. Paul played an integral role in developing the PRIM Board's modern client service program, including his work on the legislation that created the highly successful "Segmentation" investment program, which allowed local retirement systems to invest in the PRIT Fund's individual asset class sleeves as an alternative to investing in the total PRIT Fund. Paul also served as the Executive Director of the Health Care Security Trust, and as the Research Director and Staff Supervisor at the MA State Legislature Joint Senate and House committee on Public Service. We will sorely miss Paul’s historical knowledge of PRIM; there is simply nobody who has Paul’s total recall of all facts and matters related to PRIM. He has an uncanny memory for the people, laws, events, and dates that have shaped PRIM. He is our resident historian with a steel-trap memory for all things PRIM. He also set the standard for superior client service and can often be heard saying, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” In addition to being a tremendous asset to PRIM, Paul is also an extraordinary person. He is always gracious and never loses his temper or his sense of humor. His warm and generous spirit makes everyone feel welcome and important at PRIM. His knowledge, hard work, character, charm, and integrity have helped guide us all through thick and thin. We want to congratulate Paul on a brilliant career and thank him for his years of service, his friendship, and his total dedication to PRIM’s success. We will be renaming a conference room in his honor, which will remind all those who enter to aspire to the same level of excellence that Paul did. While we are sad to say goodbye, we are very happy for Paul because the best is yet to come, and he absolutely deserves a wonderful retirement. We will all miss Paul -- very, very much. PRIM Board Actions Strategy Group Research – Asset Allocation Recommendation The PRIM Board approved the 2021 asset allocation recommendation. Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 6 PRIM’s asset allocation framework seeks to identify the optimal mix of available investment strategies to maximize the probability of achieving the dual mandate (objective) of meeting the required actuarial rate of return (7.15%) with an acceptable drawdown risk (not more than 20%). PRIM’s asset allocation provides approved asset class target ranges. Any actual weighting within these approved asset class target ranges is considered acceptable and within the asset allocation policy. As shown in the table below, the 2021 asset allocation recommendation represents no major changes to our prior year’s recommendation. Our recommendation includes a 1% increase in the Private Equity target range (10%-16% to 11%-17%) and a 1% decrease in the Portfolio Completion Strategies target range (8%-14% to 7%-13%). The small increase in the Private Equity range is aligned with our multi-year effort to slowly increase the allocation as Private Equity increases the probability of achieving our dual objective. The small decrease in the Portfolio Completion Strategies range reflects the practical challenge of allocating capital to this asset class. Source: NEPC. Asset Class Assumptions. Public Markets Other Credit Opportunities: Berkshire Multifamily Debt Fund III The PRIM Board approved a commitment of up to $150 million to Berkshire Multifamily Debt Fund III (the “Fund”) as part of the Other Credit Opportunities allocation. This is Berkshire’s second fund of similar strategy. PRIM invested in the prior fund: Berkshire Multifamily Debt Fund II. The recommendation would upsize PRIM’s commitment from $54.5 million in the previous fund to $150 million for the subject fund. The Fund’s focus will be investments in subordinated bonds, known as B-piece bonds, of Freddie Mac multifamily loan securitizations. Mass PRIM Quarterly Update – Q4 2020 7 Private Equity JMI Equity Fund X, L.P. The PRIM Board approved a commitment of up to $100 million to JMI Equity Fund X, L.P. (“Fund X” or “JMI X”). JMI will target growth-stage companies based in North America that provide software and technology- enabled services. PRIM has invested in one prior JMI Equity (“JMI”) fund. JMI is led by eight senior investment professionals with an average tenure of 17 years at the firm. Nearly all JMI’s prior funds are in the first or second quartiles in Private Equity industry peer performance rankings. Thomas H. Lee Equity Fund IX, L.P. The PRIM Board approved a commitment of up to $200 million to Thomas H. Lee Equity Fund IX, L.P. (“Fund IX”). PRIM has invested in seven prior Thomas H. Lee Partners (“THL”) funds. THL’s senior team has worked together for an average of 19 years. The firm is an established private equity manager and will primarily make investments in North American middle-market companies across the firm’s core sectors of healthcare, technology & business services, and financial services. Real Estate The PRIM Board approved the 2021 Real Estate and Timberland Internal Management Plan. Finance and Administration The PRIM Board approved the 2021 custom policy enhancements to PRIM’s Custom Proxy Voting Guidelines proposed by Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. The Client Services team -- Francesco Daniele and Emily Green – will continue to meet with the retirement boards of PRIM’s member retirement systems throughout the year. To schedule a visit, please contact Francesco at fdaniele@mapension.com, or Emily at egreen@mapension.com, or call 617-946-8401. We look forward to seeing you soon. Your beginning net asset value for the period was: Your change in investment value for the period was: Your exchanges from (to) the Cash Fund for the period were: Your ending net asset value for the period was: Net Change in Investment Value represents the net change through investment activities as follows: Gross Investment Income: Less Management Fees: Net Investment Income: Net Fund Unrealized Gains/Losses: Net Fund Realized Gains/Losses: Net Change in Investment Value as Above: State Retirees Benefits Trust Fund Month To Date Fiscal Year To Date Calendar Year To Date 84 State Street, Suite 250 Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Deborah B. Goldberg, Treasurer and Receiver General, Chair Michael G. Trotsky, CFA, Executive Director Pension Reserves Investment Management Board If you have any questions regarding your statement, please contact the Client Services team at clientservice@mapension.com. A detailed statement of your account is attached to this summary sheet. Town of Brewster 0.00 2,851,572.33 32,604.38 2,199,890.45 250,000.00 2,851,572.33 401,681.88 2,820,534.54 0.00 2,851,572.33 31,037.79 4,161.59 (437.89) 21,066.33 3,723.70 32,604.38 7,814.35 35,308.82 (6,999.71) 115,072.47 28,309.11 401,681.88 258,300.30 7,347.27 (813.69) 30,242.88 6,533.58 31,037.79 (5,738.67) $2,851,572.33 2,818,967.95 February 01, 2021 to February 28, 2021 As of February 28, 2021 the net asset value of your investment in the SRBT Fund was: Your beginning net asset value for the period was: Your investment income for the period was: Your ending net asset value for the period was: Cash Investment Month To Date Fiscal Year To Date Calendar Year To Date 84 State Street, Suite 250 Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Deborah B. Goldberg, Treasurer and Receiver General, Chair Michael G. Trotsky, CFA, Executive Director Pension Reserves Investment Management Board If you have any questions regarding your statement, please contact the Client Services team at clientservice@mapension.com. A detailed statement of your account is attached to this summary sheet. Town of Brewster 0.00 0.00 $0.00 0.00 February 01, 2021 to February 28, 2021 Your total contributions for the period were: Your total redemptions for the period were: Your total exchanges for the period were: Your state appropriations for the period were: 0.00 0.000.00 250,000.00 0.000.00 0.00 0.000.00 (250,000.00)0.000.00 0.00 0.000.00 0.00 0.000.00 As of February 28, 2021 the net asset value of your investment in the Cash Fund was: Investment Detail 84 State Street, Suite 250 Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Deborah B. Goldberg, Treasurer and Receiver General, Chair Michael G. Trotsky, CFA, Executive Director Pension Reserves Investment Management Board Town of Brewster 2/28/2021 Investments Units Of Participation Cost Price Market Value Unrealized Gain/Loss PHTF90200002 Commonwealth Of Massachusetts 12,196.929 HCST OPEB MASTER TRUST 2,610,594.36 233.7943 2,851,572.33 240,977.97 Total Investment:2,610,594.36 2,851,572.33 240,977.97 Statement of Change In Net Assets 84 State Street, Suite 250 Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Deborah B. Goldberg, Treasurer and Receiver General, Chair Michael G. Trotsky, CFA, Executive Director Pension Reserves Investment Management Board Town of Brewster 02/28/2021 NET ASSETS - BEGINNING OF PERIOD 2,818,967.95 2,199,890.45 2,820,534.54 Current Period 2/1/2021 2/28/2021 Fiscal Year 7/1/2020 2/28/2021 Year To Date 1/1/2021 2/28/2021 Commonwealth Of Massachusetts PHTF90200002 DISBURSEMENTS: CASH FUND EXCHANGES 0.00 250,000.00 0.00 RECEIPTS: CONTRIBUTIONS: PARTICIPANTS 0.00 250,000.00 0.00 INVESTMENT INCOME: UNREALIZED GAIN/LOSS-INVESTMENT 7,814.35 258,300.30 -5,738.67 MASTER TRUST ALLOCATED EXPENSES -111.34 -1,316.11 -200.28 MASTER TRUST CHANGE IN REALIZED G/L 21,066.33 115,072.47 30,242.88 MASTER TRUST INVESTMENT INCOME 4,161.59 35,308.82 7,347.27 MT ALL INVESTMENT MANAGER FEES -326.55 -5,683.60 -613.41 UNIT EXCHANGES 0.00 250,000.00 0.00 Total Receipts 32,604.38 Total Disbursements:0.00 Net Assets - End of Period:2,851,572.33 901,681.88 250,000.00 2,851,572.33 31,037.79 0.00 2,851,572.33 STATEMENT EXPLANATION Below you will find a description of each item posted to your statement. CAPITAL ACCOUNT Summary of Account Activity: A summary statement produced for your investment in the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund (SRBTF) includes both month-to- date and fiscal year-to-date information. This statement is also furnished to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC). Your beginning net asset value for the period: The total balance of your investment as of the opening date of the statement period. Your change in investment value for the period: The total increase or decrease in your investment includes net investment income, realized gains or losses, and unrealized gains or losses. Your total exchanges from (to) cash fund: Movement of funds occurring on the first business day of each month between your Cash Fund and Capital Account (SRBTF). Your ending net asset value for the period: The total balance of your investment as of the closing date of the statement period. Gross investment income: Represents your allocable share of the SRBTF’s income associated with securities and other investments (i.e. real estate), except for realized and unrealized gains or losses. It is principally interest, dividends, real estate income, and private equity income. Management fees: Represents your allocable share of the SRBTF’s expenses related to PRIM’s investment advisors, consultants, custodian and operations expenses. Net investment income: Represents your allocable share of the SRBTF’s gross investment income, less Management Fees. Net fund unrealized gains/losses: Represents your allocable share of the SRBTF’s increase or decrease in value, attributed to a change in value of securities or other investments held in the PRIT Fund, relative to original cost. These gains or losses are “unrealized” because the investments have not yet been sold. Net fund realized gains/losses: Represents your allocable share of the SRBTF’s increase or decrease in value attributed to the PRIT Fund’s sale of securities or other investments (i.e. real estate property). Whether you “realize” a gain or loss depends upon the price at which the investment was sold in relation to its original purchase price. CASH FUND Your beginning net asset value for the period: The total balance of your investment as of the opening date of the statement period. Your investment income for the period: Interest earned for the period. Your total contributions for the period: Sum of all funds (i.e. wires and/or checks) sent into your SRBTF account during the statement period. Cash contributed any day during the month except the first business day will remain in your Cash Fund until the first business day of the following month, when it will then be exchanged into the General Allocation Account (SRBTF). Your total redemptions for the period: Sum of all funds sent by wire from the PRIT Fund’s custodian bank to your government entity during the statement period. A redemption made be made at any time throughout the month as long as your Cash Fund balance equals or exceeds the amount you wish to redeem. Your ending net asset value for the period: The total balance of your investment as of the closing date of the statement period. If you have any questions about this statement, please call your Senior Client Service Officer, Paul Todisco (617) 946-8423.