Good Morning, Burlington!

Today, Eversource will be holding office hours to discuss the proposed substation over near Marshall Simonds Middle School. Stop by True North to discuss (see below).

Also, there will be a sensory friendly version of Truck Day on Friday evening on the Town Common from 6-7. Truck Day is a wonderful and very busy event during which local businesses drive their trucks onto the common for people of all ages to explore and enjoy. For some, though, the full Truck Day is very overwhelming. (Can you say honk honk?) The Recreation Department holds a sensory friendly version of the event for folks who prefer to stay away from the loud noises of the event.

Select Board Recap

As usual, the Select Board had a busy meeting last night. Below are the highlights.

Fire Department Fills Some Vacancies While Many Others Remain

• Cliff Comeau retired yesterday after 28 years of service and was added to the pool of Limited Assignment Firefighter and will provide details when needed.
• Benjamin Fischi was hired as a Firefighter/Paramedic; he has nearly two years’ experience as a paramedic at a private company.
• There are still 7 vacancies for Firefighter/Paramedics, and today is the last day to sign up for the Firefighter Exam. Sign up here and email the department to hear directly from a current Burlington Firefighter about their experience.

Lahey Hospital President’s Update Heralds New Developments

It’s been 100 years since Dr. Frank Lahey opened the Lahey Clinic, a suite of specialty clinics. It is now the largest employer in the town and has brought various medical technology companies to town. Lahey’s new president, Dr. Susan Moffatt-Bruce, gave the Select Board an update:

• The hospital, which merged with Beth Israel a handful of hears ago, see 800,000 ambulatory patients each year and 60,000 emergency room patients.
• They are accredited as a medical school and will be adding 25 students next year.
• A radiation-oncology unit will also be added and hopes to begin seeing patients by the end of 2024.
• Lahey has its own zip code (01805)!

Girl Scout Cultural Fest

Girl Scouts, Meghna and Gwyneth, reflected on the Cultural Fest they held at Simonds Park earlier this summer as their Silver Award project:

• Meghna and Gwyneth created the fest completely on their own, emailing hopeful sponsors and teaming up with the Recreation Department to execute the event.
• Denmark, India, Judaism, Pakistan, Bulgaria, and Trinidad & Tobago were represented, and over 300 people attended.
• The Select Board members heavily praised the event: Chair Runyan suggested making it annual and Member Tigges suggested incorporating something similar into Burlington’s 225th anniversary celebration.

Housing Partnership Appointment Made Amid Consternation About Housing Authority Appointment

At the previous Select Board meeting, the Board appointed Wally Decost, retired Burlington Firefighter, to the Housing Authority (an elected board) until the next election, filling a vacancy left by Steve Wasserman. There were two other candidates for this seat, including one—Jack Nagle—who provided a resume outlining a history of experience and qualification with affordable housing administration.

Yesterday, Nagle was appointed to the Housing Partnership (an appointed advisory committee to the Select Board). Following that appointment, several community members spoke about the process to fill the Housing Authority vacancy. Concerns included:

• An opaque process where the candidate who was objectively more qualified was looked over for one who was well-known to the Boards.
• A need for clarification about the Housing Authority and Housing Partnership, including their charges, term limits, etc.

Quick Updates

• Wegmans were granted four more one-day liquor licenses and will hold beer gardens, on 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, and 10/5.
• AMC will be open late for the Taylor Swift Eras tour showings for several days from mid-October through early November.
• All Pro Limo was granted a Business License.
• A request for No Parking signs on Rosario Way was withdrawn without prejudice as residents of this neighborhood try different methods to address the intermittent issue of inconvenient parking on the street.
• Saheli will be hosting their annual 5k walk for domestic violence awareness on 10/28. The town will light up the Common and the gazebo in purple throughout the month of October, and Town Hall on the day of the walk.
• Bow hunting season in the Landlocked Forest begins October 2.
• Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is on 9/23 at Fox Hill.

Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

• 9:00-11:00 AM - Eversource Office Hours to discuss planned new substation (True North)
• 4:00 PM - Pokémon Club at the library
• 7:00 PM - Board of Health will have a much shorter meeting than their last, but the single agenda item outside of department reports is a public hearing about suspending the food service permit for Cold Stone Creamery at Wayside Commons. (Town Hall and Virtual)
• 6:00 PM - Mosaic Watercolor Painting at Made in Burlington
• 6:00 PM - Free Cornhole Tournament at 3rd Ave.
• 7:00 PM - Information Systems Security Advisory Committee (ISSAC) will provide an update on the process of engaging a consultant for a cybersecurity assessment, which was funded by Town Meeting in January. They’ll also discuss planned activities for Cybersecurity Month and their presentation for Town Meeting at the end of September.  (Virtual)
• 7:00 PM - School Committee will continue working through the updates to their policy manual, an activity that has been ongoing since last school year and will hopefully leave us with modernized policies. They’ll also discuss ThoughtExchange, the software discussed at the last School Building Committee meeting and, if all goes according to plan, select the first question to pose to the community. (BHS and Virtual)

Sports and Activities

Our varsity volleyball team won 3-2 yesterday, bringing their record to 3-0. Unfortunately, the freshman and JV teams lost their matches 0-2. I missed putting the swim meet on the calendar, but the team worked hard and improved times yesterday despite falling to Winchester 91-71. The 200 Free relay team qualified for sectionals with their time of 1:56:28!

Today we’ve got soccer and golf on the calendar, with the golf team playing in Watertown at 3:30 and the soccer teams up against Reading. Boys host at MSMS at 4:15; girls play their games away.

That’s all I’ve got for today. I hope you have a great one!

Nicci

Thanks, as always, for reading. Share this edition with someone who wishes they could go to Truck Day but can’t stand all the beeping and other loud noises!