The Bourne Select Board met on December 17, 2025, in a televised workshop to discuss the outstanding social equity host community agreement (HCA). No members of the public spoke during the non-agenda public comment period. The board considered whether its prior scoring process was fair, whether to re-deliberate the HCA award, and how to finalize a narrative describing its original decision. Procedural Notes - A courtesy copy of a lawsuit related to the HCA matter had been received. One participant said it was informational only, that decisions should be made on the town's criteria and scoring matrix rather than litigation threats, and that any needed discussion could take place in executive session. - The process was described as a contractual host community agreement rather than a license issuance, so the process is somewhat looser; any new information the board considers should be disclosed to the full board and placed on the record. Public Comments & Testimony - No public comments were offered for non-agenda items; no members of the public spoke during this portion. Discussion Items - The opening speaker recounted that three of the five board members had originally chosen Bourne Cannabis through the scoring process, but that circumstances had changed and the board was now deciding whether the scoring was fair, whether to restart, or whether to make a new decision. - Board member Gene said she had concerns about fairness and transparency, had heard from one applicant relentlessly, and felt the board had not truly deliberated over individual scores. She proposed an evening meeting with public comment so working residents could attend, and asked that all outside correspondence be disclosed. - Peter said he would take part in additional evaluation and explain his reasoning more clearly if that was the majority's wish, but he stood by his score and his previous detailed explanation. - Another board member said her choice was based on a review of the documents, location, and qualifications, and her vote had not changed. - Gene raised a site-plan concern about NLM's application: the proposed lot appeared to be split between the town's MOD map and non-MOD area, the site plan was difficult to read, and a residence sat on the same lot; she also questioned the amount of parking and called the nearby traffic circle a failed intersection with summer backups. - A board member who lived on Everett Road for 20 years disagreed, saying the lot has a large parking area, the residence is set far back, and the location was good because the traffic backup could make it convenient for customers to pull in. - One board member pushed back on the need for more public input, noting that multiple prior meetings on the topic had drawn zero public attendees and that Cape Way Cannabis's community outreach also drew no one. - The board discussed two narrative drafts prepared by Marlene and considered at meetings around November 4 and November 18, 2025. The first draft was revised to change language from "did not" to "was less" in some findings, but the second draft was not accepted because Gene raised concerns about candidate outreach to individual board members and fairness. - A letter from Bourne Cannabis dated November 27, 2025, sent to the select board and copied to Brian, had not been read into the record or included in a meeting packet; board members agreed to forward any process-related correspondence to Brian for circulation. Key Outcomes - No vote was taken to restart the scoring, change the HCA award, or adopt the narrative. - The board scheduled a final HCA discussion and vote for January 13, 2026, at 6 p.m., including review of the narrative. - Board members were asked to come prepared with written, specific comments on the narrative and their reasons, and to send any outside correspondence to Brian so all members could make decisions from the same record. - Marlene will provide the latest draft narrative in Word format for board members to edit. - The board voted 5-0 to adjourn.
