Bourne Select Board Meeting – August 30, 2025
Bourne Select Board Meeting – August 30, 2025
Note: The meeting transcript states the date as September 2, 2025, but the instruction requires using August 30, 2025. This summary reflects the transcript content with the date discrepancy noted.
The Bourne Select Board met on the recorded date to discuss a wide range of items including consent agenda approvals, a suicide prevention proclamation, termination of an Owner's Project Manager (OPM) contract, police and fire department staffing updates, preparation for a special town meeting, future participation in the Fourth of July parade, and implementation of board goals. Public comments raised concerns about handicapped parking at a marina.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the consent agenda (motion by Peter, second by MJ, unanimous roll call):
- Chris Weatherby Memorial Toy Run – use of town roads for annual motorcycle procession on November 2, 2025.
- Friends of Bourne COA and Food Pantry – use of community building for fall psychic fare and craft show with rental fee waiver on November 15, 2025.
- Appointment of M. Alexander to Energy Advisory Committee (term ending June 30, 2026) and ZBA associate member (term ending June 30, 2026).
- Monument Beach Polar Club – use of Monument Beach for annual polar plunge on January 1, 2026, with parking sticker requirement waiver and sale of items.
- Bourne Youth Basketball Association – rental fee waiver.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Several citizens spoke in support of adding a second handicapped parking spot at H Dock Marina. They noted that two boat owners have legitimate handicapped passes, and one (Peter Noring, who has MS) cannot boat if the single spot is taken. Speakers described the difficulty of watching him crawl on his hands and knees and urged expedited action as the season ends October 1 (marina closes November 1). They also mentioned that the other handicapped user sometimes leaves his truck for days, creating conflicts.
Discussion Items
- Suicide Prevention Proclamation: The board approved a proclamation declaring September 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Dr. Marware, co-chair of the Cape and Island Suicide Prevention Coalition, spoke, noting that Cape Cod's suicide rate is 2.5 times higher than the state average (new data, not yet announced). She thanked the board and urged Bourne to be a role model.
- Icewim Building Committee – OPM Termination: The committee recommended terminating the contract of the Owner's Project Manager (OPM) for convenience due to poor performance. The OPM had not led the project as expected. The committee will issue an expanded RFQ covering both the Icewim project and the transfer station. The board voted to authorize the town administrator to prepare the termination (unanimous).
- Police Department Staffing Update: Chief Isop reported that since becoming chief, 16 officers were hired; 10 remain. Six left due to field training failures, discipline, or termination. Six retirements occurred. Recently, three conditional offers were made, and one officer returning from military leave will attend the academy in October. Three officer positions and one dispatcher position remain open. A clinical social worker position was lost due to state funding cuts; the department is awaiting reinstatement. The department maintains a minimum of four cruisers on the road, with overtime within budget. Future growth (e.g., base project) may require higher staffing.
- Special Town Meeting Preparation: The town administrator announced the police station roof replacement ($2.5 million) will be on the warrant again. Litigation over the roof is ongoing. The board discussed being prepared to answer questions about bonding and the urgency of the project. Temporary measures are in place to capture leaks.
- Fire Department Items for Special Town Meeting: Chief Pollonzi presented several items:
- SCBA replacement (grant-related, 10% match) – packs expire September 2027.
- Forestry vehicle replacement (1993 Humvee) – grant-related.
- Ambulance replacement – 24-28 month build time; moving to a regular replacement cycle.
- Vehicle exhaust recovery system retrofit – new filtration system to replace aging hoses, improving safety and flexibility.
- Budget adjustments for police and fire overtime – underfunded for FY26 due to vacancies.
- Fourth of July Parade Participation: Gene raised liability concerns about town vehicles in the parade and the policy forbidding throwing items from vehicles. The board discussed that town vehicles are covered by town insurance, but the policy against throwing candy should be enforced. The parade organizers have their own insurance. The board will have a discussion with organizers.
- Implementation of Select Board Goals: The board reviewed goals set on August 27, 2025: police station roof, 5-year capital plan, watershed permits (McGansusquatique and Finney's Harbors), and communication policy. Gene disclosed a potential conflict of interest regarding watershed permits because she lives in Finney's Harbor and her husband's business is in McGansusquatique. She has consulted with legal counsel and the state ethics commission. The board agreed to hold an ethics workshop before scheduling watershed permit workshops. For communication policy, the board discussed hiring a facilitator, possibly from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and scheduling a longer session (4-5 hours) rather than multiple 90-minute workshops. Virtual vs. in-person was debated; majority favored in-person for longer sessions.
- Licensing: Approved a one-day beer and wine license for Stone Path Malt, LLC at the Lions Seaside Walk Fest on September 27, 2025 (rain date September 28).
- Anna's Pals – Road Race: Approved use of town roads for a 5K run (Born to Run) on November 9, 2025. The organization has raised about $1 million of a $3 million goal for the old Hoxie School renovation.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Suicide Prevention Proclamation: Approved unanimously.
- OPM Termination: Board authorized the town administrator to prepare a termination for convenience; vote unanimous.
- Licensing: One-day liquor license approved unanimously.
- Road Race Use: Approved unanimously.
- Handicapped Parking Discussion: The board voted to add a future agenda item to discuss possible solutions for additional handicapped parking at Taylor's Point Marina (motion by MJ, second by Peter, unanimous).
- Next Steps: The board will schedule an ethics workshop before proceeding with watershed permit workshops. Communication policy workshops will be planned with a facilitator and a longer session. Special town meeting warrants are still open; preparation continues.
Meeting Transcript
7 p.m. Um September 2nd, 2025. Uh note this meeting is being televised, streamed, or recorded by Bourne TV. If anyone in the audience is recording or videotaping, uh they need to acknowledge such at this time. I do see Owen Drury, Owen up there. And uh please refrain from using flash photography. Uh if anyone from the public wishes to access the meeting, they can do so by calling the following conference line. 1929 205099, Zoom meeting ID 897, 1229, 3538 password born all caps. The Zoom chat will not be monitored. Uh participants who wish to speak must raise the hand icon to the chair, ask them to unmute. All items within this meeting agenda are subject to deliberation and votes, and I will call this um public session into order in open session. Uh we'll start with our um Did we omit? Did we forget a moment of silence? I'm gonna do that now. Not on the agenda. All right, let's do reasonable. And to the public relations, liberty and justice. Thank you. Anyone want to take on the vision and mission, one or the other or both. Um I'll do the vision. Bourne is a proud community that embraces change while respecting the risk heritage of the town and its villages. It's a municipality based on strong fiscal government with a durable economy that recognizes the rights of all citizens, respects the environment, especially the coastal areas of the community, and the amenities that it affords. Bourne embraces extra and education and offers the citizens a healthy active lifestyle. Thank you. Sure. Born will maximize opportunities for social and economic development while retaining an attractive, sustainable and secure coastline and environment for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. Through responsible and professional leadership and in partnership with others, Bourne will strive to improve the quality of life for all residents living and working in the larger community. Thank you. I do want to make note that um Jean Azarevitz is on um online just so everyone knows. So we will do roll call vote. I do roll call vote for everything anyhow. All right. Um shout out. I think I'm just gonna start. I don't have any like our specific shout out, but I did want to make sure and make a note this um this session to acknowledge, you know, our school school year has started. And I do want to shout out to all of our um, you know, our teachers who planned and got ready for our students to come into their classrooms and our first responders, the police and fire who really keep them safe. And um, yeah, that was really my shout-out for this morning. I know Peter had this evening. Sorry, I'm a day behind. Oh no, no, it's alright. Uh there's a couple, you know. I want to say thank you to the K Cod Canal Chamber, uh Chamber of Commerce for putting on a uh you know their summer concert series with great success. Some good some are some nights were canceled due to weather, uh, but we did the best we could with the remaining nights because I helped participate there. Uh as part of it, uh we had bins out for the born food pantry this summer. And what people don't know is this time of year, the born food pantry, well not now, but in the summer months, it is their quietest time of the year. So we're trying the you know the health the born food pantry with food donations and any other way we can get them in there. So which is our way of doing that. And also um Mrs. Two Um Emily Emily Bakiaki and the Mariner uh we we just ended Labor Day and I've been down on Taylor, I live on Taylor's point, so we have Terrace Point Marina and we also have Marmot Beats in Picasset and uh I see the staff running around, you know, you know, working very hard, you know, for for our uh vote patrons, you know, throughout the summer, and you know, we can't thank them enough because it's very demanding in the summertime. So it's nice to uh to say thank you to the Mariner uh staff that stepping up, but also to the patrons who are our customers, you know.
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